Baerbock: war makes it necessary for peace and freedom in Europe to “defend with arms”
The Bundestag, the federal parliament, today gave the green light to a financial package of 100,000 million euros to modernize and equip the Bundeswehr, the federal army, in the largest rearmament operation of Germany since the time of the Cold War. To this end, it approved a constitutional reform this Friday that had a large two-thirds majority in the chamber and the support of the three government parties – Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP), as well as the conservative opposition formed by Christian Democrats (CDU) and Bavarian Social Christians (CSU). Of the 683 deputies who nominally voted for this reform, only 96 voted against it and 20 abstained, practically all of them from the two parties at the extreme of the political arc, the post-communists of the Left and the ultra-nationalists of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The unusual consensus between the tripartite and the main party to drastically rearm the national armed forces has as its background the war in Ukraine.
The Federal Chancellor, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, had already announced on February 27, three days after the Russian invasion, the preparation of this extraordinary budget as a reaction to the military aggression suffered by Ukraine. “We assume our historical responsibility,” Federal Finance Minister and FDP President Christian Lindner said in the debate prior to the vote. The reform of the Basic Law allows leaving out of the national budgets the bulky package of 100,000 million euros for military purposes in order to comply with the constitutional obligation not to assume new debt and reduce the accumulated one. “This is the moment in which Germany says: we are there when Europe needs us,” underlined the German foreign minister, the green Annalena Baerbock, who commented that Russia’s war against Ukraine creates “a new reality in Europe” that makes It is necessary that peace and freedom be defended with arms.
The Defense Minister, the Social Democrat Christine Lambrecht, described the so-called “extraordinary assets of the Bundeswehr”, as the financial package for military purposes has been baptized in Germany, as a “good investment in the peace and security of our country”. Lindner had previously justified the expense in the absence of alternatives “in this critical economic phase” due to the consequences of the war and the effects of the sanctions imposed against Moscow. This Friday’s vote was preceded by three months of arduous negotiations between the government tripartite and the conservative opposition. Everyone was clear about the urgency of the measure, which they wanted to have approved before the summer break.
The shopping list to equip the Bundeswehr with modern equipment is long and 100,000 million euros go a long way. The bulk of the extraordinary financial package will go to the Luftwaffe, the German air force, for which 40.9 billion euros have been budgeted with which, among other things, it will exchange its old Tornado fighters for modern American-made F-35 aircraft. These single-seaters, of which Germany plans to buy 35 units, can carry missiles with nuclear warheads and will help strengthen NATO’s deterrent capacity. Also decided is the purchase of 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters, as well as the development and production with Spain and France until 2027 of the new FCAS (Future Combat Air System) fighter. The Luftwaffe will also be equipped with new Eurofighter ECR for electronic warfare, as well as Heron armed drones, light support helicopters, marine reconnaissance aircraft and the Twister preventive space alarm system that will require the launch of satellites.
For the Bundesmarine, the Federal Navy, 19.3 billion euros will be allocated to the purchase of type 130 corvettes, F126 frigates and 212CD attack submarines. In addition, it is planned to acquire multipurpose fast attack craft and modern rigid inflatable boats for combat divers. The naval force will also be reinforced with new marine missiles, anti-submarine systems and modern sonar currently under development. With a budget of 16,600 million euros, the army will be able to acquire new battle tanks to replace the veterans «Marder» and the armored personnel carrier «Fuchs», as well as to modernize the weapons of its tanks « Cougar”. It is also planned to replace the BV206 snow-tracked armored vehicles and provide funds for the development of a successor to the “Leopard-2” tank, a project that is already being worked on with France as a partner.
The breakdown of the financial package grants another 20.7 billion to the digitization of the Bundeswehr with new communications systems, a new logistics and strategic center, electronic command and information systems, and investments in communication and reconnaissance satellites. Another section endowed with 2,000 million euros will have the purpose of modernizing the equipment of the troops with new uniforms and footwear, as well as digitalized night vision goggles and combat helmets, while another 500 million euros will be allocated to research and development projects of navigation, as well as for surveillance and control of large regions with the help of artificial intelligence. The package will be financed with extraordinary debt, which will not begin to be repaid before 2031.
#Germany #approves #largest #rearmament #army #Cold #War