Report suggests Germany may miss defence spending target

BERLIN – Germany’s tightening public finances are raising questions over whether the country will miss its military spending target at a time when the U.S. is increasing pressure on its European allies to increase defence budgets.

The dpa news agency reported Tuesday that a Finance Ministry document circulated to other ministries for discussion suggests defence spending won’t increase sufficiently to meet targets amid a projected budget shortfall of 24.7 billion euros ($28.3 billion) through 2023.

The Finance Ministry wouldn’t comment, saying only the numbers won’t be finalized until the end of March.

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on a Latvia trip that Germany would still meet its goal to increase military spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2025, already less than the 2 per cent NATO members agreed in 2014.