German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that he is committed to NATO spending, but he says Donald Trump's demands are too high. One other NATO member, however, has welcomed the incoming US president's suggestion.

Friedrich Merz, the German conservative who is the front-runner to become the next chancellor, downplayed a remark by US President-elect Donald Trump calling for NATO members to more than double defense spending.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday dismissed incoming US president Donald Trump's demands that Germany and other NATO allies spend at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. "Five percent would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year,

Donald Trump, the President-elect of the USA, has expressed a desire for NATO countries to allocate 5% of their GDP to defence spending. The Spanish newspaper "La Vanguardia" refers to this as an "imperial tax,