His comments came only a few hours before the German coalition collapsed Wednesday night. Pistorius is a member of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party.
The two ministers met in Paris Wednesday evening at Pistorius’ request to discuss the fallout of Trump’s reelection, as the potential consequences of his victory for Europe’s security and NATO’s future are massive. Earlier Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the war in Ukraine and the escalating conflict in the Middle East with the U.S. president-elect.
During his first term, Trump frequently accused European nations of freeloading off of American military might and for underspending on defense, particularly targeting Germany.
Trump even said on the campaign trail he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member country that didn’t meet its financial obligations to the defense alliance.
Both ministers — whose respective countries reached NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense only this year — were keen to showcase their respective input to Europe’s security. In a coincidentally timed move Wednesday, the German Cabinet signed off on plans to introduce a form of mass recruitment for voluntary military service starting in 2025.
Lecornu called on European countries to continue their rearmament efforts — including his own, which is facing major budgetary constraints. He said Paris would push for NATO to take a harder look at the allies’ actual military contributions — warplanes, warships, troops — instead of only the 2 percent figure. “Budget curves don’t protect, deter and defend, real contributions do,” he said.
