“Just as Nord Stream 2 was never purely an economic project — despite what the CDU and SPD long wanted to believe — it’s also no coincidence that undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea keep getting damaged,” Baerbock said, referring to recent suspected cases of Russian sabotage.
Ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election, Baerbock’s Greens are polling in fourth place on 14 percent support, far behind the leading conservative alliance under chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz. Should the conservatives win, it’s far from clear which other party or parties they will invite to form a coalition. The conservatives and the Greens, however, do align on many foreign policy issues, including on Ukraine and defense spending.
Baerbock told POLITICO that Germany needs to invest more in its own security, saying “it’s crucial” that the country consistently invest more than 2 percent of GDP on defense.
“In crisis years, that could even approach three percent,” she added.
Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants NATO members to spend a staggering 5 percent of GDP on defense — more than double the alliance’s current spending target. In the past he referred to Germany as “delinquent” on defense spending, and has threatened to withhold American protection from NATO countries that don’t pay enough.
But Baerbock sounded relatively sanguine about the incoming Trump administration.
