‘US will pay less, Germany will pay more’ – NATO’s Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the United States will pay less into the military alliance’s budget from next year, with Germany stepping up contributions to fill the gap.

At a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, Stoltenberg said a new cost-sharing formula has been agreed and that “the US will pay less, Germany will pay more,” AP reports.

Stoltenberg said the US and Germany would pay “roughly 16 percent” of the total budget now. Washington was previously the biggest contributor, paying about 22 percent. The move does not concern the national defense budgets that President Donald Trump routinely complains about.

NATO allies agreed last year to a civil budget of $250.5 million for running things like the organization’s headquarters. A further $1.4 billion was earmarked for spending on military missions around the world.