The outbreak of war in Ukraine has opened a new era in the history of the modern world, particularly in the European landscape. The actions of Russia have led the West to question its means of coping with such aggressive policies.
On 27 February 2022, German Chancellor Scholz gave a speech to the Bundestag that marked a sharp change of course from the previous policy of diplomacy and deterrence. His goal is the creation of a special fund of 100 billion euros (about 113 billion dollars) to increase the German defence; he also intends to devote 2% of GDP to military spending.
“It’s clear we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country, in order to protect our freedom and our democracy” (Hill, 2022).
Then, the Chancellor wants to include this threshold in the Constitution so that future governments maintain this line. Finally, these measures would allow Germany to meet NATO demands; in the past, the United States had strongly criticised the low German contribution.
“This means, without ifs and buts, that we stand by our duty of support in NATO. President Putin should not underestimate our determination to defend every square metre of [NATO] territory together with our allies” (Schuetze, 2022).
Circumstances have therefore brought relevant changes in German foreign and military policy. For example, Berlin has decided to allow the trade of weapons Made in Germany to conflict zones and Ukraine and send them directly. The decision marks a historic break with Germany’s post-war commitment not to export arms to conflict zones. The German foreign policy has become tougher in the economic field too. The Government decided to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (despite the financial loss) and supported Russia’s exclusion from the SWIFT system.
Written by Maria Giovanna Caranfa
Bibliography:
Aljazeera, (2022), ‘Germany to ramp up military spending in major policy shift’. [online] Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/germany-to-ramp-up-military-spending-in-major-policy-shift
Connolly, K., “Germany to set up €100bn fund to boost its military strength”, The Guardian, February 27 2022, [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/germany-set-up-fund-boost-military-strength-ukraine-putin
Deutsche Welle (DW), (2022), ‘Germany commits €100 billion to defense spending’. [online] Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-commits-100-billion-to-defense-spending/a-60933724
Hill, C., “New era’: Scholz pledges €100bn boost to German defence spending”, Euronews, February 27 2022, [online]. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/2022/02/27/new-era-scholz-pledges-100bn-boost-to-german-defence-spending
Schuetze, F. C., “Russia’s invasion prompts Germany to beef up military funding”, The New York Times, February 27 2022, [online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/europe/germany-military-budget-russia-ukraine.html
