(5 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium – 5 June 2025
1. Wide of German Defense minister, Boris Pistorius arriving for statement
2. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defense minister:
“For Germany that means, we traditionally take on – and it’s not going to be different this time – the second largest package of capabilities within NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). We will – and we have stressed that repeatedly – fulfil our responsibilities as the strongest economy in Europe. Of course, I am not giving any details for one simple reason – I’d prefer potential aggressors not to get to look into my cards.”
3. Mid of camera operator
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defense minister:
“This is just a rough estimate, but we think we will need 50,000 to 60,000 more soldiers in the army than there are now. At the same time, we will of course have to ask whether the new military service will be enough over the next couple of years. We expect that synchronous with the build up of the capacities – and I can only repeat that a draft system is useless right now, because we don’t have the needed capacities, neither in the barracks nor in training. That’s why we need to increase these capacities – until then it’s volunteers.”
5. Close of flags
STORYLINE:
Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that Germany aims to will enlarge the country’s army by some 50-thousand to 60-thousand troops.
“We expect that synchronous with the build up of the capacities – and I can only repeat that a draft system is useless right now, because we don’t have the needed capacities, neither in the barracks nor in training. That’s why we need to increase these capacities – until then it’s volunteers,” he told reporters in Brussels, Belgium.
It comes as NATO Defense ministers are set to approve purchasing targets for stocking up on weapons and military equipment to better defend Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic, as part of a U.S. push to ramp up security spending.
The “capability targets” lay out goals for each of the 32 nations to purchase priority equipment like air defense systems, long-range missiles, artillery, ammunition, drones and “strategic enablers” such as air-to-air refueling, heavy air transport and logistics.
Each nation’s plan is classified, so details are scarce.
Spurred on by their own security concerns, European allies and Canada have already been ramping up military spending, including arms and ammunition purchases, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At the same time, some allies balk at U.S. demands to invest 5% of their gross domestic product in defense — 3.5% on core military spending and 1.5% on the roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports needed to deploy armies more quickly — when they have already struggled to grow their budgets to 2% of GDP.
The new targets are assigned by NATO based on a blueprint agreed upon in 2023 — the military organization’s biggest planning shake-up since the Cold War — to defend its territory from an attack by Russia or another major adversary.
Under those plans, NATO would aim to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days, although experts suggest the allies would struggle to muster those kinds of numbers.
The member countries are assigned roles in defending NATO territory across three major zones — the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe.
If the targets are respected, the member countries will need to spend at least 3% of GDP on defense.
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