Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 16, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius calls on NATO members to close defence gaps, suggesting spending targets above 2% of GDP to meet capability goals.
ROME (Reuters) - It is up to all NATO members to close gaps in their defences no matter the cost, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday, following talks with his European counterparts in Rome.
"It is the task of all NATO states in Europe and beyond to close the capability gaps ... regardless of whether it ends up costing 2.5, 3 or 3.5%," Pistorius told reporters, referring to spending targets based on national GDP.
"The decisive factor is realising these capability goals," he said, adding that Germany together with Poland, Italy, France and Britain - whose ministers were present at the talks - were aware of their responsibility.
The German minister declined to offer a set target in the debate on how much NATO countries should spend on defence.
Currently, NATO asks allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence. In light of the war in Ukraine and pressure on Europe from U.S. President Donald Trump, there is general consensus that this goal should be higher.
On meeting capability goals, which are to be set at a summit of NATO leaders this summer, Pistorius said, "This will certainly cost more money than 2%. I suspect around 3% or more."
(Reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome, Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Matthias Williams)
The article discusses NATO allies being urged to increase defence spending to close capability gaps.
German Defence Minister suggests spending targets could be 3% or more of GDP.
The pressure comes from the ongoing war in Ukraine and expectations from the US.
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