Echoing the views of his boss, the new US top diplomat was adamant about the need for allies to meet defense commitments. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas emphasized Berlin's humanitarian efforts in Syria and Iraq.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V. Mayo
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At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Friday, the new US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, chided allies, foremost among them Germany, for a lack of progress in meeting defense spending commitments.
Although German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed his country's humanitarian efforts in Syria and Iraq, adding that the new government was currently preparing a budget, he stopped shy of promising it would lead to increased defense spending.
Pompeo, on the job for less than a day, immediately called out allies for the slow pace of spending increases.
Echoing what has been a standard US talking point for years, he told attendees that "European nations must bear the necessary responsibilities for their security and make the case to their fellow citizens why it is critical to fulfill their obligations on defense spending."
Asked if Germany was doing enough, he said: "No. They should meet the goals they signed up for."
He noted the US was "thrilled" that so many allies prioritized defense spending but added, "That's what they signed up for."
He stated that by July, the US expects to see finalized plans for meeting spending commitments.
Pompeo also said that Russian aggression and meddling had made NATO "more indispensable than ever."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said of Pompeo's arrival just hours after being sworn in: "I think it's a new record. It reconfirms the commitment of the United States and President Trump to the transatlantic bond."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas: Germany "has an extraordinary presence in terms of its perception of its international responsibility and we are also fulfilling our obligations to NATO."
Not paying their dues: US President Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO allies for falling short of their commitments towards NATO's defense spending. Several NATO countries, including Germany, are way short of meeting a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in 2014 to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024.
Which EU countries meet the spending target: Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland are four of NATO's EU allies that meet the 2 percent spending target.
Since West Germany's accession to NATO, Berlin has supported numerous operations involving the trans-Atlantic alliance. Since 1990, Germany's Bundeswehr has been deployed on "out of area" missions as well.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hanschke
Germany's role in NATO
West Germany officially joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 1955. However, it wasn't until after reunification in 1990 that the German government considered "out of area" missions led by NATO. From peacekeeping to deterrence, Germany's Bundeswehr has since been deployed in several countries across the globe in defense of its allies.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hanschke
Bosnia: Germany's first NATO mission
In 1995, Germany participated in its first "out of area" NATO mission as part of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the deployment, German soldiers joined other NATO member forces to provide security in the wake of the Bosnian War. The peacekeeping mission included more than 60,000 troops from NATO's member states and partners.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/H. Delic
Keeping the peace in Kosovo
Since the beginning of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, some 8,500 German soldiers have been deployed in the young country. In 1999, NATO launched an air assault against Serbian forces accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and their civilian supporters. Approximately 550 Bundeswehr troops are still stationed in Kosovo.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V.Xhemaj
Patrolling the Aegean Sea
In 2016, Germany deployed its combat support ship "Bonn" to lead a NATO mission backed by the EU in the Aegean Sea. The mission included conducting "reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings" in Greek and Turkish territorial waters at the height of the migration crisis. Germany, Greece and Turkey had requested assistance from the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/M.Schreiber
Nearly two decades in Afghanistan
In 2003, Germany's parliament voted to send Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Germany became the third-largest contributor of troops and led the Regional Command North. More than 50 German troops were killed during the mission. Germany withdrew the last of its troops in June 2021 as part of the US-led exit from Afghanistan.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Niedringhaus
German tanks in Lithuania
Forming part of NATO's "enhanced forward presence" in the Baltic states, 450 Bundeswehr soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania since 2017. The battalion-size battlegroups there are led by Germany, Canada, the UK and US to reinforce collective defense on the alliance's eastern flank. It forms the "biggest reinforcement of Alliance collective defense in a generation," according to NATO.
