Germany: Chancellor Merz innaugurates a brigade in other country since World War II
Lithuania, which already spends 5% of its GDP on defense, plans a gradual increase in spending, while Germany pledged to modernize its military with a 100 billion euro fund.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz inaugurated a groundbreaking German brigade in Lithuania. To protect NATO's eastern flank, which borders Kaliningrad and Belarus, countries allied with Moscow, Merz affirmed that Berlin’s reinforcement is a sign to its allies to invest in security.
"The security of our Baltic allies is also our security," declared the Chancellor. This stationing in Lithuania marks the first time that Germany has based an entire long-term brigade outside the country since World War II. Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania's presidnet, called it a historic day after meeting with Merz.
Bundeswehr reinforcement
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany committed itself to increasing its spending on national defense. The former Chancellor that year, Olaf Scholz, announced the creation of a special fund of €100 billion to modernize the Bundeswehr.
The 45th Armored Brigade, stationed in Lithuania, is expected to reach full strength by the end of 2027. The troops will be based in Rukla and Rudninkai, and about 5,000 soldiers are expected to be stationed there. Germany has had troops in Lithuania since 2018, but this new deployment reinforces its commitment.
Friedrich Merz said that Germany will increased their defense expenses 0.2% in the next seven years. Photo: AFP News
Lithuania invests 5% of its GDP in defense
Early this year, the host country announced that it would raise its defense spending to between 5% and 6% of GDP. This made Lithuania the first NATO nation to reach that level. There is a plan aiming to reach 3.5% for the other allies by 2032. Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister, said this week that the plan is to increase their defense spending by 0.2% each year.
“We stand firmly by Ukraine, but we also stand together as Europeans as a whole — and, whenever possible, we act as a team with the U.S.,” Merz said. This statement was made after the European Union and the United Kingdom established a defense agreement on May 19, seeking ways to defend the allies if Donald Trump withdrew his support for Ukraine.
