Approvals for German arms exports reached a new high last year, and significantly so. This is mainly due to weapons for Ukraine. But even second place on the list is surprising.
The federal government set a new record in 2023 with arms export permits worth around 12.2 billion euros. This emerges from a communication from the Federal Ministry of Economics published in Berlin. The main recipient country is Ukraine with 4.44 billion euros. Of the permits, 6.44 billion euros were for war weapons and 5.76 billion euros for other armaments – armored vehicles, for example, fall into this category.
The new high had already been announced in December, but at that time it was based on preliminary figures that did not yet cover the second half of December. The previous high of 9.35 billion euros was achieved in 2021, the new record is 30 percent higher.
“The continuous German support of Ukraine in its self-defense against the Russian war of aggression, which violates international law, serves to secure the global peace order,” explained State Secretary Sven Giegold (Greens). The second highest approval value is in Norway. This shows that the federal government is sticking to its restrictive baseline, according to which the question of human rights is of particular importance. “The record demand for German military equipment among our democratic partner countries is an expression of an increased need for military security, for which Russia’s aggression bears overwhelming responsibility.”
Around 89 percent of the approved export value or 10.84 billion euros concerns EU and NATO states or countries that are equivalent to NATO members – this group includes Japan, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand – as well as South Korea, Singapore and Ukraine.
Source: Stern
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