>>115748655Germany's GDP in 2019 was $3.85T
They are obligated, under NATO agreements, to pay 2% of their GDP in defense. In 2019 they spent ~1.35%. That's a $25 billion shortfall. The US spends $5 billion a year maintaining our bases in Germany, $6.5 billion a year on German EDI operations, and our defense budget subsidizes purchases of military hardware by Germany from missiles to missile defense systems to the tune of several billion dollars a year.
And that's just Germany - there are another 24 NATO allies who similarly fail to meet their defense funding goals. At least some of the dirt poor Slavic countries have an excuse, wealthy countries like Germany, Italy, and Spain have none.
