Speaking at a ceremony at NATO’s Brussels headquarters to mark the 70th anniversary of West Germany joining the alliance, Steinmeier looked to assuage fears about the organization’s future.
“Today, with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war against Ukraine raging on in full force, and with the United States putting fierce pressure on its European allies, Germany is in a crucial position,” he said.
“We got the message; you can count on us. We will strive to make Germany, both its military and its infrastructure, the backbone of conventional defense in Europe.”
The fiscal plan includes 500 billion euros (about $571 billion) for a special fund for infrastructure and plans to largely remove defense spending from domestic rules that cap borrowing.
“Up until now, every milestone for Germany, every turning point for the better, has been in some way, one of restraint, of embedding, becoming part of something larger, NATO, for instance, the United Nations, the European Union,” Steinmeier, who has been president since 2017, said.
“But the tides have turned. Putin has brought war back to this continent. Today, a badly armed Germany is a greater threat to Europe than a strongly armed Germany.”
Berlin’s hike in defense expenditure was sparked by growing concerns across Europe that the continent can no longer fully depend on the United States for its defense, following criticism from President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration.
West Germany joined NATO in 1955 during the Cold War. East Germany became part of the alliance after German reunification in 1990.
Steinmeier, who is head of state but not head of government, made the comments the same day that Merz named utility executive Katherina Reiche as his likely economy minister and his ally Johann Wadephul as foreign minister, as part of a raft of first appointments.
Merz’s conservatives, who topped February’s elections, reached a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) earlier in April and are now in the process of forming a new government.
Discussing Trump’s sweeping import tariffs, Merz told a meeting of his party, “We will propose to the United States of America that it would be best if we go to zero for all customs duties in the exchange of goods.”
The coalition deal gave Merz’s Christian Democrats the economy and foreign ministries, their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union the interior ministry, and the SPD the defense and finance ministries.
If SPD members approve the deal, the lower house of the German parliament will meet on May 6 to elect Merz as chancellor.
In that vote, he will need a majority of all members of the Bundestag to be elected; however, the proposed coalition has a relatively modest majority, holding 328 of the Bundestag’s 630 seats.
The brigade will consist of about 5,000 personnel and 2,000 vehicles. The three units involved include a mechanized battalion, a tank battalion, and additional combat and support elements that will team up with a multinational battlegroup.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement that the deployment marked a historic turning point for the NATO alliance and Germany’s role within it.
“With this combat-ready brigade, we are taking on leadership responsibility within the alliance here at NATO’s eastern flank,” he said.
