The attacked Ukraine should be able to continue to count on Germany. But less money is provided in the budget. The country is relying on a shaky instrument.
The German government wants Germany to remain one of the most important supporters of Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, despite tight budgets. “Germany remains absolutely committed, and the Chancellor’s word still stands that support for Ukraine will continue as long as it is necessary, and that no one, especially not the Russian President, can hope that we will let up on this,” stressed deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner in Berlin.
However, the current bilateral aid from the federal budget is to be partially converted to multilateral support. And that is on shaky ground, because the international plans have not yet been finalized. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) nevertheless assured: “This will enable Ukraine to procure weapons on a large scale. It can rely on that.”
However, it is completely uncertain how exactly Germany can support Ukraine in the coming year – and whether that will be enough.
How much military aid Germany pays
After the USA, Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest donor. The traffic light government has budgeted around 7.5 billion euros for “strengthening”, i.e. military aid, this year. But it is already clear that this was a tight calculation: According to the Ministry of Defense, almost everything has already been spent or planned.
Whether more money is needed this year is controversial. According to a report in “Spiegel”, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) asked informally for an increase of almost four billion weeks ago. A spokesman for his ministry has not commented on this at the moment. According to the Finance Ministry, there is no official notification of a need.
For next year, the federal budget currently only provides for four billion euros in military aid. This was the same for the 2024 budget – the item was later increased by the Bundestag. However, budget makers do not see this scope for 2025 due to the tight budget plan.
Ministry of Finance: Extra money only with good reason
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) therefore wrote a warning letter to Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). New measures with payment obligations in the coming years, it says, may only be entered into if “financing is secured” in the budget plans. Lindner’s expectation: “Please ensure that the upper limits are adhered to.”
The Lindner ministry later added that it could check at short notice whether additional money was possible. However, the need must be “specifically reported and comprehensible” so that the Bundestag can be asked for additional funds.
Hoping for an unfinished new source of money
According to the Chancellor’s Office and the Finance Ministry, less bilateral support does not automatically mean less aid for Ukraine. The major western industrialized countries are currently in the process of putting together a new financing concept for the attacked country.
Next year, Ukraine is to receive a loan of 50 billion dollars. Interest and repayment are to be paid from the proceeds of frozen Russian state assets. According to the US government, around 280 billion US dollars (around 260 billion euros) of Russian central bank funds have been frozen in Western countries since the Russian attack on Ukraine. By far the largest share is within the European Union: around 210 billion euros, according to the Commission. The frozen money generates billions in interest income every year.
The problem: Talks about the loan project have been going on for months – but nothing has been finalized yet. “We assume that this will be successful by the end of 2024,” says the German government. But Ukraine cannot actually make any binding plans with the money. And the Kremlin sees the use of the proceeds as expropriation.
“There will be new funding – I would say probably and probably,” said Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) at an event in Hamburg. Ukraine will not be given weapons as a gift, but will be given money and will be able to use it to buy weapons. That is perfectly fine, but the transition must not lead to a months-long interruption in support, he warned.
What signal is the government sending?
The federal government’s actions have been met with fierce criticism – even within the traffic light coalition. The chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, the Social Democrat Michael Roth, spoke in the newspapers of the Funke media group of a fatal signal from the federal government to Ukraine. The 50 billion loan is nowhere near enough.
In an open letter, numerous members of the Green Party’s grassroots criticised the fact that the impression was created “as if the German debt brake was more important than the life and survival of an attacked European nation”. The Green Party executive committee, the Green ministers and the parliamentary group must ensure that Germany fully fulfils its promises to Ukraine, according to the letter, which was first reported by the “Tagesspiegel”.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also made unusually clear statements: He expects “that Germany will remain a major, Europe’s biggest supporter of Ukraine,” he said on the sidelines of a visit to Hungary.
The German government tried to calm things down and updated its list of military equipment deliveries to Ukraine. Four Iris-T air defense systems with different ranges are to be delivered by the end of the year, Büchner announced. In addition, there will be ten Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, 16 self-propelled howitzers, 10 Leopard battle tanks, combat drones and several thousand rounds of artillery and tank ammunition.
For the coming year, Ukraine has also been promised more than 20 self-propelled howitzers, 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 37 Leopard battle tanks, five Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, six additional IRIS-T systems and several thousand rounds of artillery and tank ammunition. “And that is why there is no message at all from the government saying that support will be reduced or restricted in any way.”
Federal government on military aid X-Post Scholz
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
