Spahn stepped down in mid-July after announcing that he and his husband had used a surrogate mother in the US as a means to become parents. 

Using surrogate mothers in Germany is not legal, and the CDU opposes the notion. Spahn made use of a loophole permitting people to use surrogates abroad, but was accused both of hypocrisy and of undermining his party's position.

After stern criticism even from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he resigned his post, seemingly jumping before he was pushed.

Spahn wrote in the letter that the "split between my private decision to have a child using surrogacy and the reasonable expectations of me as a leader of our party" became greater "than I had expected." 

He conceded that in hindsight, it might have been better to announce his intentions ahead of time, rather than to wait and come forward only once the child had arrived safely. 

"I was too cowardly to publicly declare my colors on this sensitive issue," Spahn wrote in the letter. "I wanted to avoid a difficult debate, also to protect my expectant family — and in doing so I ultimately brought about a much more difficult debate."

Spahn had always held a slightly conflicted ideological position within the CDU: a relatively rare openly gay party member in a same sex marriage who at the same time liked to portray himself as a traditional conservative and Roman Catholic on the party's right flank.

NATO chief praises Germany as driver of European defense

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has praised Germany as a driving force behind efforts to strengthen Europe's defense capabilities, while warning that the threat from Russia remains high.

Speaking at the closing of the German Foreign Ministry's annual ambassadors' conference in Berlin, Rutte welcomed the government's decision to raise defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product by 2029.

Germany now spends more on defense than any other European country and has become a major driver of arms production, Rutte said.

"You have shifted into sixth gear on defense," he said.

Turning to Russia's war against Ukraine, Rutte said Moscow was continuing its attacks unabated and suffering more than 40,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded each month.

He also warned that Russian hybrid attacks in Europe were increasing, including cyberattacks, sabotage and operations involving drones.

Following the drone incident in Leipzig in early August, Rutte assured Germany of NATO's full solidarity. The German government has blamed Russia for the attempted attack.

Rutte said NATO would continue supporting Ukraine while accelerating efforts to strengthen its own defense capabilities.

Europe was increasingly taking responsibility for its own security, he said, with the goal of building "a stronger European pillar in a strong NATO."

Unpacking Germany's secret ballistic missile test

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German Finance Ministry rejects Ifo defense debt criticism

Germany's Finance Ministry has rejected criticism from the Ifo Institute over the government's use of additional borrowing for defense spending.

The ministry said Ifo had applied the wrong benchmark when calculating how much of the extra debt had actually resulted in higher defense expenditure.

"The Ifo study does not apply the legal criteria that the Bundestag and Bundesrat enshrined in the Basic Law [Germany's constitution] with the exemption of defense spending from the debt brake," the ministry said.

"The study is therefore legally and methodologically wrong. It is comparing apples with oranges."

Ifo: Germany diverted 'debt brake' defense borrowing to other spending

The Munich-based Ifo economic research institute has accused the German government of using additional borrowing intended to create more room for defense spending for other purposes.

The Ifo said on Thursday that 38.5% of the additional debt taken on in 2025 under an exemption from Germany's constitutional debt brake did not translate into additional defense and security spending.

"A large part of the additional debt did not lead to additional defense spending," Ifo researcher Emilie Höslinger said. "Instead, the extra spending capacity freed up in the core budget was used for other purposes."

Germany changed its constitutional debt rules in March 2025, exempting defense and certain security spending above 1% of gross domestic product from the country's debt brake.

The measure was approved by the outgoing parliament with the support of the conservative Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union, the center-left Social Democratic Party and the Greens.

Ifo found that relevant defense-related spending increased by €17.6 billion ($20.6 billion), while €28.6 billion ($33.5 billion) in debt was taken on under the exemption.

That left €11 billion ($12.9 billion) in additional borrowing that did not correspond to additional defense and security expenditure, Ifo said — equivalent to 38.5% of the total.

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Dobrindt warns of growing threats to German security

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has defended plans to give security authorities greater investigative powers, accusing critics of putting people's safety at risk amid what he described as a heightened threat to Germany.

Speaking during a parliamentary debate on his ministry's 2027 budget, Dobrindt, of the conservative Christian Social Union, said the proposed powers were necessary to "protect our freedom."

"The threat level is high and is coming from different places," Dobrindt said. 

He pointed to an explosives-laden drone discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport as evidence of the security challenges facing Germany, adding that Russia was clearly behind the incident and that it was "not an isolated event."

Dobrindt has pushed for stronger measures against drones and hybrid threats. He said under his leadership, the federal and state governments have established a new joint drone defense center, while a Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats (GAZ Hybrid) opened in June.

"We are rebuilding the pillars of security architecture," Dobrindt said on Thursday. 

The Interior Ministry's budget is set to increase by more than €950 million ($1.1 billion) to €16.7 billion ($19.5 billion).

The Federal Criminal Police Office and Federal Police are among the agencies set to receive additional personnel.

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security, which is responsible for cybersecurity, is also due to receive more funding.

Sonja Eichwede, deputy parliamentary leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party, highlighted additional spending planned for the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, saying it was important for civil protection and disaster response.

Germany blames Russia for attempted terror attack in Leipzig

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