Fewer arms exports approved – most go to Hungary and Ukraine
In the first quarter of 2023, the federal government issued licenses for the export of armaments worth 2.4 billion euros. This was announced by the responsible Ministry of Economics on Monday evening in Berlin, with reference to preliminary figures. In the same period last year it was 2.88 billion euros.
Many exports were related to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Armaments worth 497 million euros went to Ukraine. Only Hungary was ahead of Ukraine. 765 million euros were used to equip the armed forces there. The Greens-led Ministry of Economics emphasized that almost 90 percent of all amounts went to close partners – i.e. EU countries, NATO countries or countries like Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia or New Zealand.