Recently, Republican President Donald Trump claimed that Germany owed lots of money to NATO. This simply isn’t true. NATO doesn’t keep a running tab. It does ask that members invest 2% of their GDP, but this is in their own militaries and if they don’t spend it, no one makes up for it and no one is owed anything. The country chooses whether or not to comply. Very few do. Only the US, the UK, Greece, Estonia, and Poland meet or exceed the 2% threshold.

Had Trump said that Germany wasn’t spending the 2% of GDP that was agreed upon, this would make it true. But that is not what he said. He said, “Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes……..vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”

This is a lie. Germany does not owe NATO anything.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/mar/19/donald-trump/fact-check-donald-trump-says-germany-owes-vast-sum/