Berlin Before the debate in the Bundestag on Thursday, the traffic light factions and the Union agreed on a joint application for heavy arms deliveries to Ukraine.
The application calls on the federal government to “continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of necessary equipment to Ukraine and also to expand the delivery of heavy weapons and complex systems, for example as part of the ring exchange”. However, Germany’s ability to defend the alliance should not be jeopardized. In other words, the Bundeswehr’s capacity to hand over material from its own stocks is limited.
A controversial passage on the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr is no longer found in the application, which made the agreement with the Union possible in the first place. Group leader Friedrich Merz had previously said that the CDU and CSU could not “agree with the wording.”
It is about the wording that the special fund is to be implemented “in accordance with the resolution of the Federal Cabinet”. The Union saw this as a preliminary determination of the use of the special fund.
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If these “six words in a ten-page paper” were deleted, the Union could agree to a joint application, Merz had emphasized: “Then we’ll go this way together.” The Union faction would meet in the evening for a special meeting to discuss the change , is it[called
The Bundestag also debated the special fund on Wednesday afternoon. The Bundeswehr is to be better equipped with the 100 billion euros. The traffic light is dependent on the consent of the Union for the amendment to the Basic Law required for the special fund. But she also wants to have a say and sets conditions, which makes it difficult to reach an agreement. But now there is an approximation.
Union finds draft law for special funds too vague
The negotiators of the Union parliamentary group, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt and parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg (CDU), had only met once with Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and his parliamentary state secretary Florian Toncar.
The atmosphere was “open” in March, it said afterwards. However, the minister had to coordinate afterwards with the colleagues in the SPD-led Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Office led by the Greens. Since then there has been radio silence.
A second round of talks took place on Wednesday morning. Again there were three points on which the Union insists: The money should only be available for the Bundeswehr. From the Union’s point of view, however, it is too vague in the draft law to provide the means “to strengthen alliance and defense capabilities”. “This would not ensure that the money actually goes to the Bundeswehr,” said Union parliamentary group Vice Middelberg the Handelsblatt.
Accordingly, the Union is demanding that Germany use the money to achieve the goal set by NATO of reserving two percent of gross domestic product for defense spending in the future. Last but not least, the Union wants to have a say when the 100 billion euros are distributed among concrete investment plans. An “accompanying committee” is under discussion that will make decisions with a qualified majority. Alternatively, a concrete investment plan could already be passed with the amendment to the Basic Law, as it was said.
Greens are fighting against the two percent target
However, many of these demands cannot be made with the traffic light factions. The Greens in particular are slowing down. With them, it is said, for example, setting the two percent target in the Basic Law would be unthinkable. That was “downright absurd for us Greens,” complains a leading member. The goal is arbitrary and has little to do with what the military actually has to do. Keeping the brand in the Basic Law is not a sensible security policy. The FDP is also critical of this.
From the Union it was said that the two percent target does not have to be achieved immediately, but within the next four to five years and then also permanently observed. And this must also be stipulated by law: the coalition must commit itself. In this context, Union parliamentary group vice-president Middelberg referred to the announcement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of February, who had announced both himself.
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The special fund demands concessions from the Greens anyway, as the party campaigned for disarmament instead of rearmament in the election campaign. The Greens will therefore deal with the issue at the state council in Düsseldorf on Saturday. There, the party leadership has, among other things, a motion to be voted on that is intended to underpin the party’s position on the subject. The content is still being voted on and is scheduled to be presented on Thursday evening.
In addition to the two percent target set in the Basic Law, it is also considered unthinkable that the 100 billion euros should go exclusively to the Bundeswehr – as the Union demands. The Greens further define the concept of defense. The money must also flow into other fields that are also relevant to defense from the Greens’ point of view, it is said. Cyber security is one example given. There are “no purely military answers,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday in the Bundestag.
That, in turn, cannot be done with the Union faction. “The current cabinet decision on the special fund is nothing more than a financing trick with which the coalition wants to circumvent the debt brake without having to cut back on its own program,” criticized parliamentary manager Thorsten Frei (CDU). “However, we are concerned with a really sustainable improvement in defense capability and in the Bundeswehr.”
The head of the Bundeswehr Association, André Wüstner, called for a compromise between the government and the opposition on Wednesday. One cannot afford to drop the special fund again, said Wüstner in the ARD morning magazine. “That would be massive damage within the Bundeswehr, keyword credibility, but especially internationally.” The Bundeswehr needs the money.
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