((Suggested lead: The new government here in Germany has set itself a bold objective: it wants to elevate its Bundeswehr to the status of Europe's most formidable conventional military force. The new administration has pledged to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, meeting the expectations of international partners. This significant policy shift, which includes plans to increase the number of soldiers by 50,000 to 60,000, represents a major transformation in Germany's defense strategy.))

Lower thirds:
0:03 Report by / Nina Haase
0:08 Friedrich Merz / German chancellor, May 14th
0:44 Johannes Wadephul / German Foreign Minister
1:49 Nina Haase / DW Correspondent
2:13 Aylin Matlé / German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)

Script:
Friedrich Merz had barely been chancellor for one week when he set an ambitious goal:
+++SOT Merz, May 14
„The government will in future provide all the necessary funding the Bundeswehr needs to become Europe’s strongest conventional army-a more than appropriate aim for Europe’s most populous and economically strongest country. It’s what our partners and friends expect. More than that: it’s what they demand.”
Not only that- the new foreign minister surprised reporters in May ahead of the NATO summit, when he announced Germany will agree to significantly boost its defense spending as a share of GDP :
+++SOT Wadephul+++
„Let's look at the result. The result is the 5% that President Trump has demanded, that he considers necessary. And we're following him on that.“
5% of GDP for Germany would currently mean some 200 billion euros, or almost half the national budget- a massive shift. 
Germany’s military spending peaked at the height of the Cold War but started declining steadily in the mid-1970s. 
2022 marked a turning point, with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Germany launched a one-off €100 billion special defense fund. And reached NATO’s 2% of GDP goal in 2024. 
By 2028 the special fund will run out. 
But before being sworn in earlier this year, the new coalition  government  and other members of parliament  took the unprecedented step of changing the constitution to allow unlimited spending on defense  
+++Nina PTC ++
“This was hard to swallow for many, including some of Merz' own people- it meant doing away with the principle of strict fiscal rules. And saw him be accused of breaking election promises.”
But there was no way around it, according to military top brass and security analysts – who warn that Russia could be in a position to attack NATO allies by 2029.
+++SOT Aylin Matlé, DGAP+++ 
So if we look at Russia’s rhetoric dating back already a few years ago and also in more recent times, you can clearly delineate that Russia sees itself at war with the west at large, and that also includes NATO// Russia would see weakness as an invitation to even push further and to test NATO’s coherence and resolve to protect every inch of its territory.
+++ Graphic 5 percent.mp4 (von Stephan Foest)+++
One ranking puts Germany fourth out of NATO’s European members, in terms of firepower. If the country wants to jump to the top of that list, the Achilles heel is here - soldiers serving in the Bundeswehr. Germany currently has some 180,000. And is missing NATO's CURRENT goals. 
((NATO material...))
So to the defense minister, the path forward is clear.
+++SOT Pistorius+++ SOTPistoriusBB_01SCW_HQ_2CH.mp4 in ((P:\Austausch\Bundespressehaus_BPH(D-E-S-A)\Video\Berlin Briefing\Episode 34))
((RWNE_20250605_9462))

So we’re assuming – but this is only an estimate – that we need around 50,000 to 60,000 more soldiers in the standing armed forces than we do have ? today. At the same time, the question will naturally arise: Will the new military service be sufficient over the next few years? We assume this, while capacities grow alongside. And I can only repeat: conscription is of no use to us right now, while we don’t have the capacities when it comes to in the barracks or in training.
((RWNE_250611_3615_BELGIUM_NATO_MILITARY_SPENDING_ANALYSIS-V1))
But Germany's role in NATO is likely to only increase in the years to come.
+++SOT Matlé+++ML, 43:02
"If we really take into consideration that the US will at least partly retrench from Europe, from the European continent, the role that Germany will have to play will become all the larger. And that is not in sort of not taken into account in the current NATO defense planning process."
((Eigendreh today))
While there IS criticism from both right-wing and left-wing groups, the majority of Germans support the government's new 5% plans. They're also behind the idea to start a form of voluntary military service. The corresponding law will probably be passed this autumn.