Military editions: Bundeswehr should be able to buy weapons faster in the future

Germany’s defense ability should be strengthened – the Bundeswehr should be able to buy armaments goods much faster and easier in the future. The Federal Cabinet launched a corresponding draft law. “We want to accelerate the procurement to make Germany safer,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) in Berlin. He spoke of a directional law and a quantum leap.

With a view to much more money for the Bundeswehr, Pistorius said: “If the tank is full, but the tank line is not quite free, then the full tank is not much of use.” So far, a WUST of regulations have hindered rapid procurement.

The draft law states that the necessary rapid “ability to” grow “the Bundeswehr should not fail because of complex procurement procedures or for long approval procedures. In addition, faster and simpler procurement of the armaments industry should give earlier and more planning security so that capacities can be raised.

Faster allocation of orders

“We need more armaments and we need them faster. This is only possible by expanding production,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Katherina Reich (CDU). Specifically, the awarding of public orders to cover the Bundeswehr’s needs should be facilitated and accelerated by exceptional regulations in public procurement law. Direct editions should be possible faster and more frequently. The acceleration should also apply to new buildings and repairs of barracks.

In order to achieve defense ability, Germany is taking up high new debts, said Reiche. “We have to invest this money in new air defense technologies, satellite skills, drones, autonomous systems, AI skills.”

The draft law states that Russia is the largest and most immediate threat to security as well as peace and stability. There are currently no signs that Russia is ready to end the war against Ukraine through negotiations. “Rather, statements of the Russian leadership indicate that the Russian war goals go beyond Ukraine.” In the interest of Germany’s security and alliance partners, Germany must react to this and strengthen defense ability within the framework of NATO.

In order to be able to spend more money on the Bundeswehr, the debt brake in Germany was relaxed for defense spending. At its summit in Haag at the end of June, NATO had committed itself to investing five percent of gross domestic product in defense and security at the latest from 2035 – as much as since the Cold War. So far, the goal was two percent.

The draft law provides for higher so -called value limits so that the Bundeswehr can award orders more quickly. This value limit is currently generally 15,000 euros, and it should be increased to 50,000 euros, said Reiche. The goal: less bureaucracy, more speed.

In the future, the new value limit should be 443,000 euros for orders that strengthen defense ability. Only then are so -called formal award procedures necessary, said Pistorius. A total of almost 8,000 orders could be processed faster. In the case of construction contracts, the value limit should be increased to one million euros.

Left-wing MP Pascal Meiser said: “The Federal Government’s plans for the acceleration of contracts threaten to become a gateway for the uneconomical handling of tax money and nepotism.”

Criticism also came from the craft. “An acceleration of the Bundeswehr planning and procurement processes is necessary, but it must not be at the expense of medium-sized companies and crafts,” said Jörg Dittrich, President of the Central Association of German Crafts. In any case, for all areas that do not directly affect the procurement of military equipment, the priority of the so -called specialist and partial without allocation must be maintained without restrictions – in order to obtain fair competitive conditions and to secure the broad participation of regional companies.