Germany Votes On Historic Increase In Defence Spending

Germany’s Parliament known as the Bundestag, is voting on a historic defence spending which could pave the way for a massive uplift in military investment, as Russia makes gains in Ukraine as well as Washington reluctant to continue assisting Europe on security.

“This vote in the Bundestag is absolutely crucial,” says Prof Monika Schnitzer, who chairs Germany’s Council of Economic Experts.

“After the Munich Security Conference, then the Trump-Zelensky row, Europe got a wake-up call. For the first time Europeans may not be able to rely on Washington. A lot of people had sleepless nights after that.”

“The outlook for European defence spending hinges on developments in Germany, as the holder of the region’s largest defence budget,” agrees Dr Fenella McGerty, senior fellow for defence economics at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Defence spending in Germany rose by 23.2% last year, helping to drive a record 11.7% rise in European defence outlay.
“The remarkable initiatives announced in Germany are key to enabling further growth,” adds Dr McGerty.

“Without them, any progress made on strengthening Germany’s military capability may have stalled.”

Germany’s incoming new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is in a race against time.

The new parliament convenes on 25 March and not everyone is in favour of all this money being spent, especially on defence.

Both the far-right AfD party and the far-left Linke have vowed to oppose it.

The vote needs two-thirds in favour to go through, so Merz has a better chance of this happening today, under the existing (old) parliament. It then needs to be approved by Germany’s upper house.

Meanwhile Europe is still coming to terms with the shock of announcements coming from the Trump administration.

Defence strategists in Europe are already planning for the unthinkable: a semi-victorious Russia making gains in Ukraine, then rebuilding its army and threatening Nato’s eastern members, such as the Baltic states, within three years or less.

This, at a time when the US commitment to Europe’s defence is looking extremely shaky. President Trump is being urged by some in his circle to pull US troops out of Europe and even to withdraw from Nato altogether.

Historical Caution

There is talk of France extending its national nuclear deterrent to cover other European nations.
Meanwhile, most European governments are under pressure to raise defence spending after years of cuts.

The British Army has now shrunk to its smallest size since the Napoleonic Wars, over 200 years ago, and experts predict it would run out of ammunition within two weeks of fighting a full-scale conventional war in Europe.

Germany has long been cautious about defence spending, not just for historical reasons dating back to 1945, but also due to the global debt crisis of 2009.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma