NATO presses Germany to expand forces amid military strain
NATO will demand that Germany establish seven new brigades, which will require an increase of 40,000 soldiers, reported the Reuters agency on Tuesday. This poses a challenge for the Bundeswehr, which is already grappling with personnel shortages.
What do you need to know?
- NATO plans to increase the number of brigades: The Alliance is urging Germany to establish seven new brigades, necessitating an increase of 40,000 soldiers.
- New defence goals: NATO defence ministers are set to outline new defence targets that could increase current requirements by 50 per cent.
- Challenges for Germany: The Bundeswehr is struggling to reach 203,000 soldiers, which may impede meeting the new requirements.
The Alliance's new defence objectives are to be established next week by the defence ministers of the member countries, according to Reuters. A senior military official disclosed that NATO plans to create 120 to 130 brigades, representing a 50 per cent increase over current goals.
What are NATO's new requirements?
In 2021, the German government committed to making 10 brigades—units typically numbering about 5,000 soldiers—available to NATO by 2030. Germany currently possesses eight brigades and is in the process of forming a ninth one in Lithuania, anticipated to be ready by 2027. Citing three anonymous sources, Reuters reported that NATO will request seven new brigades from Germany.
The German Defence Ministry and NATO did not respond to requests for comment on this information.
Increasing the number of soldiers by 40,000 could prove a significant challenge for Germany. The Bundeswehr has yet to achieve its target of 203,000 soldiers, initially set in 2018, and currently lacks around 20,000 professional military personnel. Additionally, NATO's current plans do not account for the potential reduction of the American contingent in Europe, which might affect the situation.
NATO would need approximately 35 to 50 additional brigades to fully implement defence plans in the event of a Russian attack, and Germany itself would have to quadruple its military personnel. Moreover, the Alliance's current plans do not yet account for reducing the American contingent in Europe, emphasised Reuters.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced that talks with European allies about reducing the number of American soldiers in Europe would commence this year.
What are Germany's financial plans?
Germany has announced a "historic change" in fiscal policy by adopting a law reforming the "debt brake." Military, civil defence, and cybersecurity spending exceeding 1 per cent of GDP will not be subject to budget constraints. Berlin has also adopted the assumption that the Bundeswehr must be "ready for war" by 2029, linked to NATO's forecasts concerning the expansion of Russian armed forces.
