Now the gaps in protection should be closed as quickly as possible. “We see the need to strengthen civil and population protection,” said the SPD interior expert Sebastian Hartmann the Handelsblatt.
The parliamentary managing director of the Greens, Irene Mihalic, emphasized: “Not to significantly strengthen civil defense would be extremely negligent.” The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter considers a “change in security policy” to be necessary, which also includes civil defense and forward-looking civil protection.
In concrete terms, Kiesewetter calls for an additional ten billion euros for the expansion of civil defense and disaster control in addition to the planned special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr. “Germany must prepare itself for crises and challenges such as floods, droughts, pandemics, cyber threats, but also catastrophic events and the effects of war in Europe and become more resilient overall,” he said.
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The CDU MP supports a move by Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). The SPD politician had recently proposed a “federal-state pact for civil protection and disaster control” at a special conference of German interior ministers, bringing the sum of ten billion euros into play.
The fact that the new security policy situation in Europe will cause immense follow-up costs for Germany, even beyond the announced Bundeswehr investments, was also recently made clear in the Bundestag debate on the budget for the Ministry of the Interior. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a turning point,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “It will also entail additional financial burdens that are not yet taken into account in this budget.”
The Federal Office is working on a new bunker concept
In the 2022 budget, almost an additional 20 million euros are currently earmarked for the Federal Office for Population Assistance and Disaster Management (BBK). In total, this would be around 271 million euros – about half of it for personnel and administrative expenses.
The Bonn authority is geared towards protecting the population in times of tension and defence. In addition, the BBK can support the countries responsible for civil protection in peacetime.
Kiesewetter said that in order to do justice to its task, the Federal Office needs adequate staffing. A rapid expansion of the siren program for the municipalities and the accelerated development and expansion of strategic reserves such as drinking water, emergency power and shelters for crisis prevention are necessary.
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BBK President Armin Schuster recently asked for significantly more money for his authority on ZDF. Between five and ten billion euros are necessary to strengthen civil protection. Initially, the former CDU member of the Bundestag had applied for around 135 million euros for additional investments. However, it is not about financing an authority, but about investing in national reserves, Schuster told the dpa news agency.
Specifically, the top civil protection officer called the drinking water security, sirens and CBRN protection, i.e. protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards. “For example, it’s also about modern civil defense and disaster control vehicles and our civil defense helicopters,” explained Schuster.
Schuster also sees a need for action in the case of bunkers. In 2007, the federal and state governments decided to abandon the shelter concept, he said. His authority is currently developing concepts of how effective structural civil protection could look in the future. “However, implementation will take time and cost a lot of money.”
Greens warn of “academic debates”
The CDU politician Kiesewetter called on Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) to improve the budget draft. “In order to fulfill the BBK’s core task of strong civil defense alone, the traffic light must urgently be reprioritized in favor of civil protection and provide additional human and budgetary resources,” warned the CDU politician.
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The SPD politician Hartmann already sees a “significant strengthening” of civil protection. However, he added up the funds planned for the civil protection authority and the technical relief organization. This would make a good 790 million euros available. However, Hartmann did not rule out an increase. “More is the subject of the current parliamentary deliberations,” he said.
Of course, the federal government also has an interest in a functioning warning infrastructure, emphasized the SPD politician. In principle, however, the federal states are responsible for warning the population in the event of a disaster and are therefore obliged to finance this infrastructure. Economic stimulus funds have already been used for the federal government’s special program to promote sirens, Hartmann said. “Whether and to what extent federal funds will be made available again for the expansion of the siren infrastructure is also the subject of parliamentary deliberations.”
The Green politician Mihalic warned, however, not to lead “any academic debates”. Rather, “decisive action by all responsible actors” is required. Therefore, regardless of the financial policy framework, it is “urgently necessary from the point of view of security policy” to significantly strengthen civil defense structurally and financially. “After all, it’s about the security of the people in our country.”
The FDP, on the other hand, does not want to focus solely on financing when it comes to strengthening civil protection. “It’s also about examining the structures very carefully and making our country more resilient with powerful civil protection,” said the parliamentary group’s interior expert, Manuel Höferlin. “To do this, on the one hand, the federal states and local authorities must become more willing to reform and, on the other hand, investments must have the maximum effect.”
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