Milan, 16 February (LaPresse) – Speaking on Deutschlandfunk radio, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called on NATO's European partners to make greater efforts in terms of defence spending and criticised France in particular, describing its defence spending as “insufficient”. This was reported by Ntv. ' We must also implement the 5%,‘ said Wadephul, referring to the obligation of NATO member countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defence. ’We in Germany are doing this; our budgets and medium-term financial planning allow for it,‘ said the minister, who added, however, that ’if we look at our neighbours, our allies, there is still room for improvement." Wadephul then referred to French President Emmanuel Macron: ‘He repeatedly and correctly refers to our aspiration for European sovereignty, but anyone who talks about it must act accordingly in their own country.’ ‘Unfortunately, the efforts made so far by the French Republic have been insufficient to achieve this goal,’ he said.
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