It is no secret that the US government is displeased with the financial obligations of certain NATO countries. The Commander in Chief, Donald Trump, never tires of emphasizing that the United States has too much of a burden in his eyes - while other states are said to skimp.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper once again defended Washington's call for increased defense spending by NATO members and criticized a "freeloader" mentality among European countries.
NATO can not afford "freeloaders", said Esper on Friday. The alliance was "based on mutual respect, shared values and a willingness to fight for it". There should be "no discounts," he added. With his drastic choice of words, he may also have tried to make himself popular with his top manager.
In 2014, the NATO countries decided to increase their military and armaments spending to two percent of economic output by 2024. However, only nine of the 29 NATO members reach the two percent target this year. Germany comes to 1.38 percent in 2019, according to NATO data. The federal government's goal is to reach 1.5 percent by 2024.
US President Donald Trump has been demanding higher defense spending from European NATO members for years. He demands that all allies spend "at least two percent" of economic output in this area by 2024.
Again and again inconsistencies between Berlin and Washington
Trump regularly criticized, in particular, economically strong Germany, which can be protected at the expense of the United States. In 2018, he tweeted about a reimbursement of the defense costs. Many NATO countries have been "overdue for payments that have not been made for many years," Trump wrote. He added, "Will you pay it back to the United States?"
The Federal Government, however, argues that the budget for the Bundeswehr has grown significantly in recent years due to the changed security situation, particularly in the east of Allianz. In the spring, the federal government also promised NATO to largely increase defense spending.
At that time, the German ambassador to the alliance handed over a document to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in which the German government committed to increasing military spending to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2024. "This increase is expected to continue after 2024," according to SPIEGEL information in the letter.
