100 billion euros to upgrade the Bundeswehr: will there soon be white smoke in the tug-of-war over the special fund? The FDP warns that the ships, vehicles and protective vests still have to be produced.
Berlin – In the struggle for the planned 100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr, the FDP is pushing for speed.
“The special fund must be in the Basic Law before the summer break, because otherwise we will lose a lot of time,” said the defense policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Alexander Müller, the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the special fund around three months ago – after Russia’s attack on Ukraine – in the Bundestag. Since an amendment to the Basic Law is to be made for this purpose, the traffic light is dependent on the support of the Union faction.
This Sunday evening, representatives of both sides want to continue their negotiations, according to coalition circles. It was previously unclear whether there would be a result or whether negotiations would continue afterwards. Informing the public in the evening was initially not planned.
Müller: Union must no longer block
FDP defense expert Müller said to justify his demand for speed: “The necessary ships, vehicles and protective vests are not in the shop window, they have to be produced again.” Before the industry hires new staff and orders material and preliminary products, they want to have security that the funds are also legally secured. “That’s why the Union can no longer block here.”
The first parliamentary director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU), was optimistic “that we can reach an agreement on Sunday”. CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt had underlined: “100 billion euros for the armed forces and permanently achieve the 2 percent target – we expect that the traffic light will keep this double promise and concretely fill it with life.” dpa
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