German defence budget for 2025 falls “signicantly” short of request, minister says By Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday he received “significantly less” than he requested as part of the budget for his ministry for 2025.

Pistorius had sought to increase annual defence spending by 6.7 billion euros ($7.25 billion) in 2025. Neither he nor the government have commented on how much he will receive.

“This is annoying for me because it means I can’t initiate certain things as quickly as ‘Zeitenwende’ and the threat situation require,” Pistorius said.

Days after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz surprised allies by announcing a “Zeitenwende” – German for a historic turning point – with a 100-billion-euro special fund to bring the military back up to speed.

“I have to adapt to it and make the best of it,” Pistorius said in reference to the defence budget for 2025.

The budget deal struck on Friday promises to keep German defence spending above the NATO target of 2% of GDP to fund a military overhaul, with 30 additional billion euros in 2028 to comply with the target despite the fact that the special fund will be exhausted.

The mid-term financial planning agreed on Friday foresees a total of 80 billion euros in 2028, “more than ever before in Germany’s history,” Pistorius said.

($1 = 0.9239 euros)