Berlin and Paris want to further advance military cooperation. At the security conference in Munich, it becomes clear that the EU is comparatively less capable of acting militarily.
Against the background of growing tensions, the defense ministers of Germany and France have called for a further expansion of military cooperation in the EU.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) said at the Munich Security Conference that Germany was a reliable partner and would invest more money in the military. “We will also continuously increase this defense spending,” she said in a panel discussion on the future of EU security and foreign policy. With the new three percent target of the traffic light coalition, spending on defense and development cooperation should be viewed in a networked approach.
Another cancellation of weapon deliveries
Lambrecht again rejected the delivery of weapons demanded by Ukraine. Restrictive German guidelines on arms export controls have been in practice for a long time and should possibly be tightened. “We have 80 percent approval in Germany for this restrictive policy,” she said. It has also become clear that not all partners have to do the same thing to strengthen Ukraine.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell explained in the round that the result of the conflict in Ukraine will determine future political conditions and decide whether a power-based policy with zones of influence will be decisive. He said the EU spends four times as much as Russia on defense and almost as much as China, but the EU is not militarily capable “because it’s all too fragmented.”
The French Defense Minister Florence Parly demanded: “We need a stronger Europe in the field of security and defense.” In relative terms, there is less military capability in the EU than in the US for military spending. The cost driver is the large number of different systems.
Source: Stern
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