German chancellor says NATO needs to ramp up defense spending amid Russia threat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday called for an increase in defense spending by NATO, warning that Russia's growing assertiveness is a threat to peace and political order in Europe.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting among NATO heads of state and government in The Hague, Netherlands, Merz said today's gathering will be "historic" and expressed confidence that they will agree on the 5% defense spending target.

"I expect that we will make a joint decision today to provide NATO with significantly better resources in the future. We will decide that NATO will provide an additional 3.5% for our armed forces and an additional 1.5% for infrastructure," he said.

The German Chancellor noted that there is broad agreement regarding the changed security landscape, particularly concerning the threat posed by Russia.

“Russia is not just threatening Ukraine; Russia is threatening the entire peace and political order of our continent,” Merz said. "I want to state explicitly that the decisions we make are not to do anyone a favor. Rather, we make these decisions based on our own knowledge and conviction that NATO as a whole—and this particularly applies to the European part of NATO—must do more in the coming years to secure its own defense capability."

NATO leaders are expected on Wednesday to agree on US President Donald Trump's demand that NATO members spend 5% of GDP on defense—more than double NATO's current 2% target.

President Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies in recent months for not meeting NATO's defense spending targets and threatened to withdraw from the alliance. Germany has only recently met the 2% threshold after significantly boosting its defense budget.