EU countries plan to increase defense spending; Germany is confident that US aid to Ukraine will not decrease.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has called for an increase in defense spending by at least €30B.

“After the special fund is exhausted, we will need at least €85B from 2028,” he said.

Last year, Germany’s defense budget included about €52B, supplemented by money from a special fund for the modernization of the Bundeswehr. In total, this represents about 2% of the country’s GDP. The defense minister says that now it is better to talk about spending 3% of GDP defense spending, which is more than €120B currently.

In turn, the Lithuanian government has decided to increase defense spending to 5-6% of GDP from 2026, which would establish it as the country that spends the most on defense as a percentage of GDP among NATO members. Currently, the government spends a little more than 3% of its GDP on defense.

Poland currently spends the most on defense among all NATO countries as a percentage of GDP; this year, Poland’s defense spending will reach about 5% of GDP.

Meanwhile, the German chancellor said he does not expect a US military aid reduction to Ukraine after Trump’s inauguration.