MUNICH (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis threatened to cut US defense commitments unless all NATO members met the spending target. New US President Donald Trump criticized the alliance on numerous occasions during his election campaign, calling it obsolete and vowing to make all members pay their fair share.
"In regards defense union, we have to spend more money for this… and we are decided to do so in the German government," Schauble said, adding that Berlin was sticking to its obligations and commitments.
NATO's overall European defense spending fell at rates of around 2 percent per year until the 2014 Wales summit. In 2015, spending increased 0.6 percent before surging 3 percent in 2016, according to official NATO data.
