Defense spending
Germany reports record sum to NATO
NATO member states should spend at least two percent of their gross domestic product on defense annually. For Germany, this goal seemed a long way off for years – until now.
In the past, according to documents from the NATO archives, Germany last spent two percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 1992. During the Cold War years the rate was usually over three percent.
The development of defense spending by the NATO states will be discussed this Thursday at a meeting of defense ministers at the alliance headquarters in Brussels. It is expected that around 20 of the 31 NATO countries will reach the two percent target this year.