Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius adopted NATO’s new capability targets in Brussels alongside with his counterparts. This roadmap which capabilities each member will provide to defend Europe.

Germany is taking on a key role

According to the Federal Minister of Defence, NATO is thus demonstrating that it is united and determined. Germany traditionally has the second-largest military capability package in the alliance. This underlines Germany’s special responsibility for collective defence. 

In view of the tense security situation, particularly with regard to Russia, these contributions are important for NATO’s deterrence and defence capabilities. “Today’s decisions will guide us well into the 2030s,” explained Pistorius. The European member states in particular are called upon to further expand their capabilities.

For Germany, the new NATO targets are both an international alliance commitment and a key framework for guiding national security and defence policy.

For the Bundeswehr, the new capability targets mean specifically:

• an increase in personnel to around 460,000 soldiers, made up of active troops and reserves;
• the procurement of materiel, weapons systems and equipment;
• an increase in defence spending; and
• the expansion of industrial capacities in the defence sector.

The necessary conditions for this have already been created.

A joint plan for joint security

The new requirements are part of the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP), a continuous planning process designed to ensure the alliance’s military readiness. The requirements are based on a current threat analysis. Capability packages are then agreed and allocated to all member states, who must then provide these military capabilities.

This also determines how much countries need to invest in defence. Defence spending will be a key topic at the NATO summit in The Hague on 24–25 June. Voting is currently still underway. The focus is on a proposal by NATO Secretary General Marc Rutte to earmark 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for purely military expenditure and a further 1.5 percent for the civilian area of overall defence, such as infrastructure and cyber security.