The Bundestag, lower house of Parliament, approved on Friday the establishment of an exceptional fund of 100 billion euros aimed at modernizing the German army in the face of the Russian threat. A change in the constitution was necessary.
This adoption by a two-thirds majority by MEPs should make it possible to fulfill the promise made by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of February following the outbreak of the Russian invasion in Ukraine: to rearm the country over the next few years and to modernize the Bundeswehr, whose equipment is outdated. The Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, will still have to validate the decision.
For the leading European economy, it is a matter of ensuring the defense of its territory and fulfilling its commitments to the Atlantic Alliance, by achieving the objective of devoting 2% of the national GDP per year to defence.
“This is the moment when Germany says: we are there, when Europe needs us”, launched the head of Diplomacy, the ecologist Annalena Baerbock, in front of the deputies.
40 billion for the air force
The lion’s share, i.e. 40.9 billion, will go to the Air Force, with the acquisition of 35 American F-35 type fighter planes, reconnaissance Eurofighter ECRs, and 60 CH-47F heavy helicopters Boeing Chinooks. Nearly 20 billion will be invested in the navy, with new missile corvettes, frigates and a 212 CD submarine.
More than 16 billion will reinforce the army with Marder tanks and Fuchs personnel carriers.
The rest will be dedicated to the modernization of communication networks, digital development, research and troop equipment.
“Germany will soon have the largest conventional army in Europe within the framework of NATO,” Olaf Scholz had recently assured.
Debt brake bypassed
The exceptional fund is financed by additional debt. For this, it was necessary to circumvent the rules written into the national constitution, called “debt brake”, which strictly limit the possibilities of budget deficit.
This is why the coalition government between social democrats, ecologists and liberals needed the support of the main opposition force, the conservative CDU/CSU.
Since the end of the Cold War, Germany has abandoned its army and significantly reduced its numbers, from 500,000 people to just 200,000 today. But the invasion of Ukraine acted as an electric shock in a country steeped in pacifism since the horrors of the Nazis.
Russia on Friday accused Germany of “remilitarizing” and using language that evokes its Nazi past. “We take this as further confirmation that Berlin is on the path to further remilitarization. We know how it can end,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
