Germany prevented NATO collapse, says Merz

In an interview with ZDF, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that Berlin’s decision to increase defense spending helped prevent NATO from collapsing.

Merz recalled the constitutional amendments that allowed the creation of a special fund for defense spending, which he said ultimately saved the alliance.

“I was in The Hague at a NATO summit. If we hadn’t changed the constitution and hadn’t allowed the Federal Republic of Germany to spend 3.5% on defense, plus an additional 1.5% for necessary infrastructure, NATO would likely have collapsed that day. We prevented that,” Merz said.