Maintaining defence spending of 2% of gross domestic product, as per a NATO target, is challenging for Germany, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Friday.

"Given the size of the German economy, 2% is much," Lindner said, speaking in English during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference.

"If it is sufficient and if it's enough, we will have to decide over the next years, but maintaining a level of 2% defence expenditures is already a challenge," he added. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Holger Hansen, Editing by Rachel More)