In 2025, the amount of German military aid to Ukraine will be halved: Reuters
Next year, Berlin will allocate only 4 billion euros to Kyiv, compared to 8 billion in 2024.
Germany’s government plans to approve its 2025 budget after months of wrangling, hoping a strong economic recovery will help close a 17 billion euro gap between projected spending and revenue. About this informs Reuters.
The eurozone’s biggest economy avoided recession at the start of the year, but growth turned out to be slower than expected. Like Britain and France, the German government is facing difficulties in closing the budget hole.
Next year’s budget calls for a reduction in military aid to Ukraine from about 8 billion euros in 2024 to 4 billion euros. This is stated in the draft budget, which was reviewed by the Reuters agency.
The 2025 budget includes medium-term financial planning until 2028, when the Special Armed Forces Fund needed to meet NATO’s minimum spending targets is due to run out.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a “Zeitenwende” (German for “historical turning point”), which involves the creation of a special fund of 100 billion euros to modernize the army and meet NATO’s defense spending benchmark, equivalent to 2 % of gross domestic product.
In 2028, there will be a deficit of 39 billion euros in the regular budget, and 28 billion euros will be needed to meet NATO’s target without the special fund, finance ministry sources said. According to sources, there will be a funding shortfall of €13 billion in 2026 and 2027.
