Germany must ramp up defence spending, says senior NATO general

Germany must significantly ramp up its defence spending, a senior NATO general said on Friday.

Against the backdrop of the heightened Russian threat to European security, German NATO General Christian Badia recommended as much as a 50% boost to the country's current defence budget.

Christian Badia told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that spending must rise towards 3% of its gross domestic product (GDP), well above the NATO guideline of 2%.

He argued: "2% is not enough for Germany. The direction must be 3%."

Badia, a commander in Germany's air force, is also responsible for the continuing development and adaptation of the NATO military alliance.

However, his demand could prove difficult to achieve.

Germany is currently scrambling to meet the 2% target with the help of a special €100 billion ($109 billion) fund for the Bundeswehr - the country's armed forces - announced in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Spending 3% of economic output on defence would require a €40 billion boost for the Bundeswehr, an enormous figure given Germany's recent economic struggles.

In Chancellor Olaf Scholz's latest budget proposal, ordinary spending on defence rose by only €1.3 billion to a total of €53.25 billion.