A major law passed by the German parliament has unlocked €500 billion (£418 billion) for defence spending, as a senior ...

The admission echoes recent calls from the Trump administration for European allies to do more to invest in their own defence and reduce reliance on America.

The nation has already missed a goal of increasing its soldiers by 20,000 to bring the total to around 203,000, with other major European powers struggling to attract willing recruits.

Europe finally appears serious about rearming. German legislators have agreed to exempt defense from constitutional limits on ...