Germany speeds up defence budget to beat NATO deadline

Germany plans to raise defence spending to about €144.9bn in 2027—roughly a 20% jump from 2026—to hit NATO’s 3.5% of GDP core military outlay years ahead of schedule; the move follows suspending the constitutional debt brake and creating a €500bn fund for infrastructure, with about €11.5bn of next year’s total earmarked for Ukraine, as Berlin pursues a larger, modernised Bundeswehr.