German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday unveiled a roadmap for how to achieve a potential new NATO target for defence spending.

On the sidelines of a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels, Pistorius outlined a plan for Germany to increase military expenditure as a ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.2 percentage points per year over a period of seven years.

This would allow German defence spending to reach 3.5% of economic output by 2032, up from the current 2.1%.

The figure would match the target proposed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for ordinary military expenditure, well beyond the current goal of 2%.

In addition, Rutte has proposed that a target of 1.5% be included for defence-related expenditure on infrastructure that can be used for military ends, such as railways, bridges and ports.

Together, this would create a combined goal of 5%, in line with US President Donald Trump’s wishes.

A new target is set to be agreed at the NATO summit in the Dutch city of The Hague in June.

Pistorius argued the aim is “not about achieving the 5% in one year,” but increasing NATO’s military capacity.

The spending would require a massive financial commitment by NATO countries.

In Germany, the infrastructure expenditure could be financed, at least in part, by a special €500 billion ($560 billion) fund agreed earlier this year.

According to figures from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, spending 5% of German output on defence would amount to €225 billion.

Source: dpa.com