A new survey has shown that a majority of Germans support the role of NATO, but not the alliance's defense spending target.

A slim majority of Germans "do not support" Germany raising defense spending to reach a NATO target of two percent of GDP.

That's the view held by 53 percent of respondents to the latest "DeutschlandTrend" survey published by German public broadcaster ARD on Thursday. Forty-three percent backed the idea.



Defense spending rose to the forefront of German politics after US President Donald Trump threatened to moderate Washington's commitment to NATO if member states did not meet the alliance-backed target.

However, on other facets of the trans-Atlantic alliance, Germans appeared to be on board. More than 80 percent of respondents supported the idea that "NATO is important for securing peace in Europe," compared to 15 percent who did not support it.

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