Ceremony in Brussels: 70 years of loyalty to alliance: NATO celebrates Germany’s accession

With a ceremony, Germany’s accession to NATO in Brussels is reminded of today almost 70 years ago. Among other things, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Managing Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) are expected to ceremony at the headquarters of the military alliance. The host is NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte.

The Federal Republic became the 15th member of the transatlantic defense alliance on May 6, 1955. The Allianz now belongs to 32 countries – most recently, under the impression of the Russian attack war against Ukraine Sweden and Finland.

Dark security environment

The ceremony will be overshadowed this Monday by the persistent Russian attack war against Ukraine and the uncertain future of NATO. The alliance is currently in a profound change process. The trigger is above all the announcement of the United States to want to assume significantly less security policy responsibility for Europe in the future.

US President Donald Trump recently said that the European Allies should take care of the conventional defense and deterrent of the continent in the future. Only with the nuclear deterrence could everything remain the same.

For the European Allies, developments primarily mean that they have to upgrade massively and have to spend significantly more money for defense. Last year it was the case that the proportion of the United States in the total defense spending of the NATO countries was more than 60 percent.

The party is celebrated a week before the anniversary

The fact that the commemoration for German NATO accession will not be organized on May 6th does notify. A date had to be found on which both Steinmeier and Rutte can. In addition, according to current plans, CDU boss Friedrich Merz is to be elected new Chancellor from the Bundestag on May 6th.

In the coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to significantly increase defense spending until the end of the election period. They want to clear the way to the introduction of modern military technology and also expand Germany’s defense ability in space. It was also agreed to create a “military service model based on voluntariness” for the Bundeswehr.

Together with the Greens, the old Bundestag had passed changes in the Basic Law with the necessary two-thirds majority in order to loosen the debt brake for defense spending.

Social debates

Politically and socially, upgrading Germany is no longer a big topic today. In a survey for the ZDF Politbarometer, around three quarters of the respondents and majorities in all party support groups recently increased the financial means for the Bundeswehr and defense.

In 1955 and only ten years after the end of the Second World War, it was different. Opponents in the Federal Republic feared new war risks – and that the goal of German unity would practically deal with reimbursement. Proponents, on the other hand, saw the shortest path of West Germany back to sovereignty. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (CDU) is rumored by the sentence that a state without the army is not a real state.

Internationally, the United States and Great Britain took the view that Germany should also contribute to the protection of Western Europe from the Soviet threat. However, the French were skeptical and preferred to build a European army to which Germany should only send units. Ultimately, Paris also agreed after Germany had accepted extensive requirements. Among other things, this included waiving atomic, biological and chemical mass destruction weapons.