Berlin The federal cabinet has passed a national security strategy for the first time. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke in Berlin of an unusual and important decision.
The basic idea of the concept is to consider all internal and external threats to the security of the country in context. When presenting the policy paper in Berlin, Scholz emphasized that the national security strategy goes beyond national defense alone and therefore involves several departments.
The paper runs through the desire for less dependence on autocratic countries such as Russia or China and the search for new partners in the world. China is described as a “partner, competitor and systemic rival”, with critical tones predominating. Thus, elements of rivalry and competition have increased in recent years.
“China is trying in various ways to reshape the existing rules-based international order, is increasingly aggressively claiming regional supremacy and repeatedly acts in contradiction to our interests and values,” states the security strategy.
The federal government accuses the People’s Republic of putting increasing pressure on regional stability and international security and disregarding human rights. “China uses its economic power in a targeted manner to achieve political goals.” On the other hand, China is seen as a partner “without whom many global challenges and crises cannot be solved”.
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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) emphasized that there is no black and white thinking when dealing with Beijing. There are fundamental differences with China, for example on questions of democracy, but cooperation is needed, for example in the fight against climate change. We are also looking for constant coordination with our partners.
Scholz emphasized the traffic light government’s course of not decoupling itself from China, but reducing the risks of heavy dependence on raw materials, for example. “We don’t want decoupling, we want derisking,” said Scholz.
The China strategy is to be decided in the next few weeks. It is subordinate to the national security strategy and is intended to serve as a guide for dealing with the autocratic state.
Federal government relies on “integrated security”
As previously announced, the long-awaited policy document also enshrines the two percent target for arms spending in Germany agreed with NATO. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the goal of spending two percent of economic output on defense will also apply in the 2030s.
Baerbock said Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine showed “that peace and freedom do not fall from the sky.” The challenges for the security of Germany run through all areas of life. This applies to medicines, for example, as well as to cyberspace and the cleanliness of water.
The strategy follows the principle of “integrated security,” said Scholz. It is not just about defence, but also about diplomacy, development and the resilience of supply chains. All of these parts would have to “interlock”, according to Scholz. Lindner emphasized that Germany’s security needs a “360-degree perspective”. All departments of the Federal Government would have to make their contribution.
The paper particularly emphasizes the need for Germany to become more resilient to crises. The “strengthening of the resilience of the state, economy and society as well as the protection of the natural basis of life” is of central importance, it says.
Lindner: Security also has a financial dimension
According to Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Germany’s security also has a financial dimension. “Fiscal reserves in crisis situations mean having the ability to act,” said the FDP chairman. Under different circumstances, the corona pandemic and the energy price shock of the past year would have posed a significant threat to social peace – “if we had not had the fiscal reserves to avert the destruction of livelihoods”.
Linder said freedom and peace investments are needed now.
(Photo: Getty Images)
On the other hand, crisis prevention is directly related to international financial stability, said Lindner. For example, a state that is no longer able to provide for its population will trigger migration movements. That is why the federal government is committed to the financial stability of over-indebted countries, for example, so that crises do not worsen due to financial bottlenecks.
He also considers it necessary to shift the focus of the federal budget because of the security situation. In recent years, Germany has lived well off a peace dividend. Now, on the other hand, investments in freedom and peace are needed. “This means that the proportion of the federal budget will change,” said Lindner. Therefore, other desirable projects would have to be postponed.
Planned realignment of arms exports
When realigning armaments policy, the Federal Government wants to give more consideration to strategic issues in cooperation with partner countries. The basics for this would become clear in the national security strategy, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). “Of course, in view of the new world situation, arms exports are also part of the strategic toolbox. That’s quite clear,” said Pistorius. “When we talk about strategic partnerships, it must also be about this question, including a new balance.”
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Scholz and Pistorius were also confident that the European air defense system initiated by the federal government would be implemented. He expects the necessary approvals, said Scholz when asked about the delivery of the Israeli Arrow 3 system. Pistorius pointed out that 18 governments have expressed interest in working together to build the four-element European Sky Shield.
Strategy should also guarantee raw material security
The security strategy must also ensure that Germany is supplied with raw materials safely and permanently, said Scholz. There must be close European cooperation with the producing countries. In this context, he praised an EU-Chile lithium mining agreement that stipulates that the first processing stage of the raw material will be carried out in Chile. Incidentally, this cannot only be about cooperation with democracies.
The plan was actually to present the strategy at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February. In the coalition agreement, the governing parties agreed to adopt the strategy in the first year of the legislative period. But again and again there was disagreement about what should actually be in it.
We can be very proud of this strategy. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
In the course of the process, the traffic light rejected the idea of a National Security Council because the Chancellery and Foreign Ministry could not agree on the design. On Wednesday, Baerbock resisted criticism that the project she had proposed had not made it into the strategy: “We can be very proud of this strategy,” said Baerbock.
Recently there had also been disagreements about the wording of the possibility of so-called hack-backs, i.e. targeted counterattacks in the event of cyber attacks, where the FDP had expressed concerns. However, the coalition partners sensed that this was purely a delaying tactic, with which the FDP wanted to damage the reputation of Foreign Minister Baerbock.
In the end there were many compromises, in some places the traffic light parties had no choice but to fall back on the coalition agreement – that is, on what had already been agreed.
With agency material.
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