NOV 12 — German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition has agreed to double German military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros (US$8.54 billion), Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

If approved by the parliament in Berlin where Scholz’s parties hold a majority, the boost would lift Germany’s defense spending beyond the 2 per cent of gross domestic product target pledged by all North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, the report added.

Lawmakers of Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Free Democrats and the Green party agreed on the increase in negotiations over the proposed 2024 federal budget this week, Bloomberg News reported.

Germany’s Ministry of Defense could not be immediately reached for comment.

A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros (US$21.4 billion) on military aid for Ukraine was met with resistance from EU countries. — Reuters