Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced that Germany intends to invest 100 billion in the Bundeswehr in the coming years. When it comes to voting on the program, however, there is now a problem.
The traffic light coalition is postponing the vote planned for this week on the 100 billion program for the Bundeswehr. According to information from the German Press Agency, the item was removed from the Bundestag’s agenda.
The reason is that the traffic light “is at odds with each other,” said Union housekeeper Mathias Middelberg. “This applies to the wording in the Basic Law, but also to the determination of the NATO goal of investing two percent of economic output in defense.”
SPD, FDP and Greens want to invest 100 billion euros in defense in the coming years via a special fund. Because the money to bypass the debt brake should come entirely from loans, they want to change the Basic Law. However, this requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag, which the coalition alone does not have. Negotiations with the Union have therefore been going on for weeks.
Above all, the Union insists on legal clarification that the money will only be used for the Bundeswehr. The previously planned wording “to strengthen alliance and defense capability”, on the other hand, leaves a lot of leeway. Middelberg argued that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had clearly announced that the money was intended for the armed forces. Greens and parts of the SPD would have “a great distance to the positions of their own chancellor”. In addition, the Union demands a permanent increase in the defense budget. Scholz had announced the rearmament of the Bundeswehr at the end of February as a consequence of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Source: Stern
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