BRUSSELS Germany said on Friday that NATO’s agreed target spend of two percent of members’ yearly economic output was neither “reachable nor desirable”, countering Washington’s demands that European partners comply and quickly. The United States provides nearly 70 percent of NATO’s budget and is demanding that all allies make clear progress towards the agreed target this year. Only four European NATO members – Estonia, Greece, Poland and Britain – have done so. “Two percent would mean military expenses of some 70 billion euros. I don’t know any German politician who would claim that is reachable nor desirable,” Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said at the first NATO meeting attended by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson, however, reiterated Washington’s demands and said the U.S. will push that agenda when NATO leaders meet on May 25 for the first top-level summit of the alliance. U.S. President Donald Trump will attend that meeting. “Our goal should be to agree at the May Leaders meeting that by the end of the year all Allies will have either met the pledge guidelines or will have developed plans that clearly articulate how…the pledge will be fulfilled,” Tillerson said. “Allies must demonstrate by their actions that they share U.S. governments commitment.” In Berlin, German government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said the government was committed to increasing defence spending and would continue to do so “because we know it is necessary and makes sense to further strengthen our armed forces”. Members have until 2024 to comply with…more detail
