BERLIN—Germany’s 100 billion euro ($108 billion) special defense fund is no longer enough to cover its needs, the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Friday.
Pistorius, who took office last week after his predecessor resigned, said Germany would also need to raise its annual regular defense spending from the current level of around 50 billion euros.
Germany also needs to replenish its military hardware stocks, including replacements for the 14 Leopard tanks that Berlin agreed to send to Ukraine to help repel Russia’s invasion, the new defense chief said.
Germany’s decision to suspend compulsory military service in 2011 was a mistake, he added, saying he was hesitant to place a burden upon young generations but was open to discussing a new model to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state….