Olaf Scholz accused of breaking Nato promise
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has been accused of breaking a landmark promise to boost defence spending to meet Nato’s two per cent target following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Three days after the war began on Feb 24, Mr Scholz vowed that Germany would immediately start spending more on its underfunded military, winning acclaim for pronouncing the start of a “new era”.
“From now on, we will invest more than two per cent of gross domestic product in our defence every year,” he said.
But a new financial plan by Christian Lindner, the finance minister, which will run until 2026, shows Germany will not even get close to the Nato target for several years.
The budget is “a stark contrast to the Chancellor’s announcements”, Ingo Gadechens, a CDU politician who spent more than 30 years in Germany’s navy, told Bild.
Defence spending will be equal to only 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2022, according to the government, rising to a maximum of 1.7 per cent in 2023. Only over a five-year average does the finance ministry hope to edge closer to fulfilling its two per cent pledge.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...out&li=BBoPWjQ