German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced opposition Thursday to US President-elect Donald Trump's call for NATO members to raise defence spending to five percent of GDP.
"That's a lot of money," Scholz told news site Focus online, adding: "We have a very clear procedure in NATO" on decision-making, with alliance members currently asked to spend two percent of GDP on defence.
The centre-left leader said that five percent of GDP would amount to about 200 billion euros ($206 billion) a year.
That compares to a federal budget of about 490 billion euros, Scholz said, meaning that Germany would have to find an additional 150 billion euros a year.
"And that's why I think it's better to concentrate on the path that NATO has long agreed on," he said.
