Germany votes for historic boost to defence

German lawmakers have voted to allow a huge increase in defence
and infrastructure spending – a seismic shift for the country that
could reshape European security


New legislation, championed by chancellor-in-waiting
Friedrich Merz, will exempt defence spending from
Germany’s strict debt rules and create €500 billion
($547 billion) infrastructure fund


DEFENCE SPENDING COMPARED (selected NATO countries)
Germany	United States 	NATO Europe and Canada
UK	France 		Italy
					
2% NATO guideline 
2024: Germany’s spending hits 2.12%

3.5% of GDP
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024*

*2024 figures are estimates


Sources: BBC, NATO 
Pictures: Bundeswehr, Getty Images 
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