Germany’s Friedrich Merz Unveils Ankara NATO Budget Plan Boosting Defense Spending

Germany is preparing a new budget plan ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz putting Germany's rearmament drive at the center of government spending.

“Russian Threat December 13, 2025 Warning that Europe must prepare for a war on a scale comparable to those of the 20th century, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reignited the debate about the Russian threat”

Atlantico

The draft budget approved by Merz's cabinet allocates one in every five euros of federal expenditure in 2027 to defense, and it projects defense expenditure rising to nearly one-third of federal spending by the end of the decade.

Atlantico

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in Berlin Monday, "We cannot defend ourselves against Putin with a balanced budget," as he presented the draft federal budget for 2027.

For 2027, the government is planning total expenditure of €555.4 billion, including €109.7 billion for defense spending, and the plan also projects €183.7 billion to be spent on defense in 2030 out of a projected €635.4 billion total.

The POLITICO.eu report says the 2027 spending plan was unveiled ahead of this week's NATO summit in Ankara, where European leaders are expected to try to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that they are committed to boosting military spending and taking greater responsibility for Europe's defense.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte urged European allies to demonstrate a credible roadmap to consolidate the continent's rearmament, warning in Ankara that he expected clear, concrete, and credible spending plans toward 5%.

Rutte said at a press conference in the Turkish capital, "Here, in Ankara, I expect the nations to present clear, concrete, and credible spending plans" to ensure all countries are on the right track toward the defense investment target of 5%.

El País

The El País report says the 2025 The Hague summit pledged 3.5% in pure military spending and a further 1.5% in infrastructure, roads, bridges and ports, so that troops can move faster in a crisis.

It adds that in total, 5% is the target, except Spain, which argued it could meet commitments by investing 2.1% of GDP, and it notes Rutte cited Canada as spending around 4% of its GDP this year.

El País also reports that Rutte warned that if there are still one or two partners to convince, "we have ways to do it," and it frames the pressure around U.S. expectations and threats tied to the alliance.

NATO members have agreed to raise their military spending to 5% of their GDP by 2035, with the Zone Militaire account pointing back to a 2014 Newport summit pledge to reach 2% by 2025 and allocate 20% to acquisition and/or modernization.

“Europe has already committed itself to a historic rearmament effort in order to have a credible defense by 2030, following threats from the United States to reduce its investment in NATO and to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia”

Euronews

The same report says Germany announced raising its military spending to 3.5% of its GDP by 2029, and it quotes NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte saying, "Russia is currently producing four times as many munitions as the entire NATO at this very moment."

Zone Militaire also states that at the last NATO summit, held in The Hague, Netherlands, the 32 Allies aligned with the 5% objective and that the final declaration reaffirmed an "unwavering commitment to collective defense."

Separately, POLITICO.eu reports that if European countries fail to meet NATO’s 5 percent spending target, the alliance will split into “two or three parts,” Gitanas Nausėda warned.

In the POLITICO.eu account, it is also stated that the 2027 draft budget still needs to be approved by lawmakers in a vote expected in the fall, while projected budget shortfalls of €22.4 billion in 2028 and €38.8 billion in 2029 loom.