02/12/2024 – 19:37
German Chancellor spoke at the site of the future Rheinmetall ammunition factory. The policy of “peace through deterrence” is also endorsed by Macron, who sees a chance for the EU's weapons industry. By participating this Monday (12/02) in an event that marked the beginning of the construction of a Rheinmetall ammunition factory, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the massive and urgent increase in weapons production in Europe on the grounds that Europe “does not live in times of peace”.
Alluding explicitly to Russia's two-year-old invasion of Ukraine, Scholz stated that Moscow's “imperial ambitions” are a “great danger” to peace on the continent, and suggested that arming itself could be an efficient means of discouraging attacks.
“Whoever wants peace has to scare potential aggressors,” said the Social Democrat at the construction site, alongside Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “We must move from manufacturing to mass production of weapons.”
Echoing Scholz's words, Frederiksen later wrote on
Factory should be ready in 2025
The Rheinmetall factory in Unterlüß, in the state of Lower Saxony, is expected to be completed in 2025 and produce 200,000 rounds of ammunition per year for different types of weapons, including German-made howitzers delivered to Kiev, explosives and rocket artillery pieces.
“At the front, in eastern Ukraine, thousands of rounds of ammunition are currently fired – per day, it is worth noting. This shows how important the continuous and own production of these ammunition is,” said Scholz.
Scholz's statements come at a time of stagnation in the Ukrainian counteroffensive and uncertainty about the strength of American support for its partners in the West.
The United States is Ukraine's biggest military funder, but the aid has been questioned internally, with Republicans blocking the transfer of dollars in Congress in an election year to the White House.
Last Saturday (10/02), former American president and pre-candidate Donald Trump suggested that, if he returns to office, the USA could leave allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the mercy of Russia in the event of possible attack.
Billionaire contracts
Chairman of the administrative board of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger praised the German government in an interview with the newspaper Tagesspiegel, stating that public contracts accounted for 10 billion euros (R$53 billion) in revenue for the company last year, a value that should reach around 15 billion euros (R$80 billion) in 2024 – which represents approximately 20% of Rheinmetall's turnover.
According to Papperger, the objective is to help guarantee “Germany's strategic sovereignty in the field of large-caliber ammunition”, at a time when NATO is calling for increased weapons production in Europe.
“We have to restore and expand our industrial base more quickly to be able to increase supplies to Ukraine and replenish our own stocks,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday. “This means moving from slow production in times of peace to accelerated production in times of conflict.”
A similar tone was adopted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who in a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk preached more European cooperation in the area of defense. According to Macron, everything the European Union does to help Ukraine militarily must also serve to rebuild the bloc's weapons industry. “This helps us increase our production capacity and make Europe a defense power that complements NATO.”
ra (AFP, EFE, Reuters, ots)
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