German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday dismissed incoming US president Donald Trump's demands that Germany and other NATO allies spend at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. "Five percent would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year,

Chancellor Scholz says spending 5% of GDP on defense would require Germany to allocate more than €200 billion ($204 billion) annually on military expenditures - Anadolu Ajansı

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that he is committed to NATO spending, but that Donald Trump's demands are too high. One other NATO member, however, has welcomed the incoming US President's suggestion.

The leader of Germany's conservative CDU, the party's candidate to run for chancellor, said on Tuesday that the nation should focus on efforts to reach existing NATO defence spending targets before discussing any further increases.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s demand for NATO members to increase their defense spending from the 2% minimum target to 5% spurred debate in Germany, according to the Euronews media outlet on Wednesday. Germany considers the demand excessively high.

Germany met NATO's target to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence in 2024, the government said on Monday, though well short of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's call for as much as 5%.