German defence minister warns of €6 billion budget gap for Bundeswehr

In a recent statement, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius highlighted a significant shortfall in the Bundeswehr budget for 2025, amounting to a staggering 6 billion euros.

Pistorius expressed concerns that if additional funding is not allocated to the armed forces, Germany could fall short of meeting the NATO requirement, mandating a defense expenditure of at least two per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, Caliber.Az reports, citing the German publication Bild.

Germany's Ministry of Finance has earmarked 52 billion euros for defense spending in the upcoming year. However, according to calculations by the publication, this sum appears insufficient for anything beyond essential operational costs, encompassing salaries for military personnel, heating barracks, and equipment maintenance. A meager 500 million euros is projected to remain for investments in the development of new weaponry.

The precarious budget situation also puts critical projects of the German armed forces at risk. Notably, the financing for the deployment of a combat-ready brigade in Lithuania, requiring an estimated five billion euros, remains uncertain. The newspaper points out that as of now, no funds have been allocated for this purpose.