Is the turning point already over? The soldiers’ representatives see the defense budget of the traffic light coalition as proof that no turning point in perception has occurred. The troops are “shocked.”
The Bundeswehr Association is calling for significant improvements to the draft defense budget and is sharply criticizing the agreement reached by the traffic light coalition leaders. An increase of 1.2 billion euros “does not do justice to the current threat situation and certainly not to Germany’s responsibility in the world,” said association chairman André Wüstner to the German Press Agency in Berlin. He warned: “The federal government may want to use this budget to get through this legislative period, but the Bundeswehr, as an essential part of our security architecture – and thus all of us – will pay the price for it.”
Wüstner referred to political instability and uncertainty about the future role of the USA as a security guarantor for Europe, overall the “most dangerous security situation since the fall of the Iron Curtain”.
“The troops are astonished, mostly shocked. Especially after the Chancellor’s statement during the Munich Security Conference, ‘Without security, everything is nothing’, nobody would have expected the defense budget to be so underfunded,” complained Wüstner. “Despite the declaration of a turning point, unfortunately no realization has occurred.”
Bundeswehr Association calls for improvements in Parliament
Everyone knows that the Bundeswehr’s so-called special assets are already completely tied up in contracts this year. “We also need the increase in the defense budget to cover the dramatically rising operating expenses – from power generators to fuel and special tool sets to personnel,” stressed Wüstner. Without further investment, the capacity building that has begun in the defense industry will quickly be stalled again.
He called for the parliamentary consideration of the budget: “In short: Parliament must make massive adjustments!” If Parliament does not make adjustments before the budget is approved, “then it will be a turning point – an end to the times!”
Wüstner also referred to the current report on the operational readiness of the armed forces, which showed the Defense Committee how difficult the situation is and how far the Bundeswehr is from meeting NATO’s capability targets. The association head explained: “That is the reason why Boris Pistorius has once again vigorously and substantiatedly demanded an increase of 6.7 billion euros. Once again he was left hanging, as he was last year or most recently in the course of his calls for conscription.”
Source: Stern
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