Germany Eyes €200 Billion Defense Spending Boost to Counter Russia and Support Ukraine

Germany’s Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has initiated discussions with the Social Democrats (SPD) to approve up to $210 billion in additional defense spending, according to Bloomberg on February 25.

The proposed funding would be earmarked to address the country’s military shortcomings and provide aid to Ukraine.

Representatives from Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the SPD are exploring avenues to bypass Germany’s stringent borrowing limits in order to secure the necessary resources.

Among the options being discussed in Germany is the creation of a special fund for military spending and Ukraine aid. Another possibility is expanding the existing €100 billion fund or adapting the so-called "debt brake " to accommodate additional defense spending.

Any such measures would require a supermajority of two-thirds in the Bundestag, a threshold that may prove difficult to reach once the new legislature is in place.

One option under consideration is advancing a vote on the new defense spending package through the current parliament, which would be twice the amount of a similar fund approved three years ago. The package would require approval before the new legislature convenes on March 24.

“There is now a blocking minority on the far left and the far right,” Merz said, referencing opposition to his defense plans from both ends of the political spectrum.

Merz has long promised to bolster Germany’s military in response to Russian aggression, but his plans face opposition due to the influence of fringe parties in the next parliament. The mainstream parties currently lack the votes needed to ease constitutional borrowing restrictions, but pushing the measure through the outgoing legislature before the new one takes office could offer a solution.

Merz’s proposals come amid growing pressure from the European Union, which is scrambling to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate a swift resolution to the war against Ukraine.

Trump has reportedly been in discussions with Russian leader Vladimir Putin while working on an agreement with Kyiv regarding natural resources, and also urging European countries to take on a more significant role in securing Ukraine’s future.

Merz is scheduled to have a call with SPD leader Lars Klingbeil to further explore support for Ukraine and the defense spending proposal. Exploratory talks on forming a coalition government are set to begin on March 6, following a regional vote in Hamburg on Sunday.

Spokespeople from both the SPD and CDU declined to comment on the negotiations. Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz also suggested the possibility of calling an emergency session of parliament, noting that a similar move occurred in 1998 during the Yugoslav War.

Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, outlined a scenario where Russia, if successful in occupying Ukraine, could target other European countries.