Investments in Europe's defense: A new course from the federal government!

The new federal government has given seven ministries to the SPD, with the Defense Ministry being seen as particularly important. Boris Pistorius remains Defense Minister and enjoys a high reputation among the population. The government plans to increase investment in defense to address concerns about Europe's security. Since Donald Trump's term in office in the USA, trust in NATO and the defense of Europe has been impaired. In this context, it is becoming increasingly urgent for Europe to organize its defense increasingly independently.

How finance.net reports, the EU is planning to invest around 800 billion euros in defense projects by 2030. The EU heads of state and government agreed on these investments at the spring summit. The EU Commission will provide EU loans worth 150 billion euros to support these armaments projects. Until now, Europe has been heavily dependent on the US for defense, but distrust of the US has grown, especially since Trump took office.

Defense spending at a new level

Another aspect of these developments is the increase in defense spending among NATO countries. Loud tagesschau.de NATO countries plan to spend around 2.71 percent of their GDP on defense in 2024, which corresponds to around 1.5 trillion US dollars. The European allies and Canada are expected to raise 2.02 percent of GDP, or $507 billion. This represents a 10.9 percent increase in defense spending compared to last year, with European allies and Canada spending as much as 17.9 percent more.

Defense spending by NATO countries has increased continuously since 2014 from $943 billion. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has significantly changed the perception of threats and led to higher spending. NATO's two percent target was first made binding in 2014, and Germany is planning defense spending of 2.12 percent of GDP for 2024, which is above this target for the first time. The special fund of 100 billion euros, which was almost entirely allocated to the procurement of large equipment, also received particular attention.

In summary, it can be said that the discussion about defense spending and the need for increased investment is becoming increasingly important both within Germany and among NATO allies. Germany's plans can be seen as part of a broader trend characterized by changing geopolitical conditions and new security policy challenges.