Merkel pledges to hit 2% defence spending by 2030s

German chancellor Angela Merkel says NATO staying together is essential, vows to hit 2% defence spending target by 2030s.

Germany has an interest in ensuring NATO stays even closer together now than during the Cold War, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, vowing to raise defence spending to the alliance's two-percent target "by the early 2030s".

"The preservation of NATO is in our own interest, more than during the Cold War," Merkel said days before the alliance is due to hold a summit.