Germany needs to significantly increase its defense spending, said General Christian Badia of the German Air Force and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation in NATO, quoted by DPA.
He recommends a 50% increase in spending over the current defense budget. Funds for the army should reach 3% of Germany's gross domestic product, which is above NATO's recommended minimum of 2%, Badia told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
„Two percent is not enough for Germany. The direction should be 3%”, the general claims.
Germany is struggling to meet the minimum target of 2% of GDP, even with help from the 100 billion euro special fund for the armed forces, which was announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Achieving 3% of GDP would require an additional 40 billion euros in defense spending, which may prove prohibitive due to Germany's economic problems.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's latest budget proposal allocates €53.25bn to defence, an increase of just €1.3bn.
The German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" announced NATO's plans to increase the number of combat units in response to the Russian threat.
The report suggested that the Ministry of Defense in Berlin, based on NATO's minimum capability requirements, would need to add five to six additional brigades to the ten brigades already committed to the German ground forces from 2031 .five to six additional brigades will have to be added.
Therefore, the total number of brigades in the alliance should increase from 82 to 131. A German brigade usually consists of about 5,000 men.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly called for a significant increase in defense spending and said more troops are needed.
Germany is working on a project for a new type of conscription.