German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany will double its defense spending within the next four years to strengthen NATO defense capabilities. He called this "the greatest effort we have ever made to strengthen our defence capabilities" and said Germany has "no reason to shy away from anyone" [1]. Merz emphasized Germany's growing role in European security, stating, "NATO is becoming more European so that it can remain transatlantic" [2].
Former US President Donald Trump criticized NATO members for low defense spending and the disproportionate financial burden borne by the US. Trump posted figures showing the US spent $999 billion in defense from 2014 to 2025, far more than other NATO countries including the UK at $90.5 billion, France at $66.5 billion, Italy at $48.8 billion, and Poland at $44.3 billion [3, 4]. He described the US contribution as "ridiculous" and "one-sided," accusing allies such as Germany of not sharing the defense burden adequately [1, 2, 4]. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing...Others, including Germany, are MUCH LOWER. Ridiculous!" [4]. He also criticized allies for not supporting US-led conflicts and rejected NATO help during the Strait of Hormuz tensions in April 2026 [1, 4].
NATO members collectively reached the 2 percent of GDP defense spending target set at the 2014 Wales summit, with a 20 percent real-term increase in 2025 to $574 billion—the largest single-year rise in alliance history [3]. Germany committed around $114 billion for defense in 2025, even breaking its constitutional debt limits to fund the effort [3]. Analysts attribute part of the spending surge to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s pressure on European allies [3].
Merz and Trump discussed NATO burden sharing in a phone call on July 3, 2026, ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara. They agreed to continue talks there to further address defense commitments and alliance cooperation [1, 2].
