Is Germany ready to meet Donald Trump’s 5% NATO demand?

US President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to enter the office on January 20. He has made a demand that NATO allies such as Germany, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania increase defence spending to at least 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP).

But during a campaign event in Bielefeld on Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed Trump’s demands, stressing that 5% is going to be more than €200 billion and that the federal budget is not even €500 billion.

Germany only reached the current NATO target of 2% of GDP last year and Scholz has promised that the country is going to maintain that number. He has insisted that if anyone is looking for a higher contribution, that person should also mention the source for the extra money.

Nonetheless, other key NATO allies are expressing tacit support for Trump’s suggestion. Currently, Poland is the biggest contributor in terms of relative defence spending, committing nearly 4.2% of its GDP. The US spends around 3.37% of GDP on defence.

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