" We really must take our fate into our own hands.” She said the time when the continent could rely on others, meaning the United States, was “over to a certain extent"

"Merkel told representatives from her Christian Democratic Union's youth organizations that Germany would be increasing its military spending to 2 percent of GDP, in line with an agreement that NATO states reached in 2014. The country currently spends around 1.2 percent of GDP on the Bundeswehr."

"To meet that target, Germany's defense spending would have to rise to some 60 billion euros  ($65.8 billion). The current planned military budget for the year 2020 is 39.2 billion euros."

"But Germany's political opposition isn't happy about the prospect of a dramatic rise in defense expenditures. And Merkel's partners in her governing grand coalition, the Social Democrats (SPD), aren't exactly enthusiastic either, feeling themselves reminded of the Cold War."

"SPD leaders criticized what they called "NATO saber rattling."