NATO’s Ankara summit this week will demonstrate to US President Donald Trump that European allies are stepping up to contribute more firepower to the alliance, Germany’s deputy defence minister said.
“Trump can be sure that burden shifting is not just a slogan, it's in action, and we've seen this not only in Germany, but among other European member states,” Nils Schmid said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu.
“We expect the Ankara summit to send a clear signal of unity, to strengthen the transatlantic bond, and to make clear that from both sides of the Atlantic, NATO is the central institution for collective defence.”
The July 7–8 summit in Türkiye’s capital will bring together leaders from all NATO members, alongside top military commanders and defence and foreign ministers. Trump’s decision to attend, after months of strained relations with European allies, has raised the stakes for the crucial gathering.
Responding to Trump’s sharp criticism that European allies are not contributing enough to NATO’s military expenditure, Schmid said members have already begun significantly increasing defence budgets and are moving to meet targets set at NATO’s 2025 Hague summit.
Leaders there agreed to raise the benchmark for core defence spending to at least 3.5 percent of GDP, up from 2 percent.
“I would like to note that all European allies now pass the threshold of the 2 percent spending target, which was set for the last period in NATO, and now more and more of the European allies are well on the way to bring their military expenditure up to 3.5 percent of GDP,” Schmid said.
“Of course, there's a diverse picture across European member states, but I can tell you that Germany, as the second-largest economy inside NATO after the US, is now set to meet this target by 2029, well ahead of the date that was set, which is 2035,” he said.
At the Ankara summit, allies are expected to review progress on those spending targets while seeking clarity on key strategic issues, including the future of US security guarantees for Europe, potential changes in American troop levels on the continent, and whether Washington will maintain critical military capabilities to support European defence.
The discussions come just weeks after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a Pentagon “NATO 3.0 review” of America’s military footprint in Europe, which he said would accelerate a “fast and irreversible” shift toward greater European self-reliance and free US forces to address broader global priorities.
Europe seeks timetable for US troops' withdrawal
Schmid said the Trump administration’s announcement that it plans to reduce troop levels in Europe did not come as a surprise.
He noted that previous US administrations had also signalled such a shift as Washington’s strategic focus moved from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.
European allies are preparing to address any resulting gaps in personnel and capabilities, he said, but stressed that any drawdown must be carefully coordinated.
“In terms of capabilities, we are very confident that Europeans can work together to fill gaps that may arise over the coming years,” he said.
“The important thing is that we are doing this in a coordinated manner among allies, meaning that there should be a roadmap for us NATO members in Europe, if and when American key elements, military elements, will be withdrawn.”
'NATO will become more European'
Schmid said Germany is working with its European NATO allies and EU partners to adapt to the new phase—boosting Europe’s military capabilities, deepening defence‑industry cooperation and speeding up the development of advanced weapons.
“We need NATO to become more European so it can remain a strong transatlantic bond,” he said, adding that new EU defence initiatives should complement, rather than duplicate, NATO structures.
He emphasised that such efforts should remain inclusive, allowing cooperation with non-EU NATO partners.
“For us, it's important to have venues of cooperation with NATO partners [allies] which are not members of the EU. And I'm confident that partner [member] countries like Great Britain, Norway, but also Türkiye can be very helpful in that,” he said.
“Since we are now under time constraints, meaning that NATO is preparing for the date of 2029 … That's why for us, cooperation with non-EU NATO member states is part of the equation,” he said.
European politicians often point to 2029 as a key planning date because NATO military assessments suggest Russia could, by the end of the decade, pose a more direct threat, and potentially even attack a NATO member state in eastern Europe.
