Before voting in the Bundestag: How Union and traffic lights have agreed on weapon aid

The parliamentary groups of the traffic light government and the opposition Union will jointly adopt a motion for a resolution on arms aid and other support for Ukraine this Thursday in the Bundestag.

However, an agreement on the 100 billion euro equipment package for the Bundeswehr, which is to be put into operation by means of an amendment to the Basic Law, has not come any closer.

Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

• Follow I follow

Manfred Schäfers

Business correspondent in Berlin.

• Follow I follow

An application for the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine was announced by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group last week after criticism of the German government's hesitant action on this issue arose within the coalition parliamentary groups.

The coalition then presented its own more comprehensive proposal.

This summarized their own position on the issue of arms delivery more clearly and broadly.

The federal government is now expressly requested to also allow the delivery of heavy weapons.

Since Tuesday, the Union faction and the traffic light factions had been talking about whether a common version could be produced from both applications in order to be able to demonstrate unity in parliament - apart from the AfD and the Left Party - on the question of supporting Ukraine.

According to information from faction circles, the Union faction made the condition that a formulation of the 100 billion Bundeswehr package in the Ukraine application had to be modified.

The preparation of this special budget, which requires an amendment to the Basic Law, was initiated on Wednesday in the first reading.

The Union faction demands further clarifications on the use of the investment funds.

Unlike the motion for aid to Ukraine, which is to be discussed and voted on in the plenary session this Thursday, your approval for the 100 billion program is necessary in order to reach the constitution-amending majority.

The deputy chairman of the Union faction, Johann Wadephul, said that if necessary, the government could simply increase the budget in order to raise the necessary funds for the Bundeswehr.

However, if the Union were to agree to an amendment to the Basic Law for this purpose, then conditions would have to be discussed with it.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced the special fund to strengthen the Bundeswehr in his government statement after Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Article 87a of the Basic Law is now to be amended for this purpose.

"In order to strengthen alliance and defense capabilities, the legislature intends to set up a special fund 'Bundeswehr' with a volume of up to 100 billion euros in order to finance fixed, multi-year major projects, especially of the Bundeswehr, in addition to the actual defense budget," says the draft law.

The Bundeswehr should receive a secure financial basis for its medium to long-term upgrading.

"The financing volume cannot be realized within the framework of the debt rule." The special fund should not call into question the debt brake of the Basic Law.

Hence the planned exemption from the debt rule in the Basic Law.

The Union demands a say

The Union made it clear early on that it was only prepared to agree to the amendment to the Basic Law under certain conditions.

She calls for a permanently secured adequate financing of the Bundeswehr (NATO two percent target), a say in the planned acquisition programs and a repayment plan for the new debts.

According to the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, the Bundeswehr and NATO should be set up in such a way that they could fulfill the defense mission.

His party has also played its part in the current situation.

"We all have to correct that together now." According to Merz, the effort required for this goes well beyond the 100 billion euros of the special fund.

The current budget of the Ministry of Defense is missing 20 billion euros every year.

Mathematically, the 100 billion were just enough for five years.

"Right from the start of the next legislative period, we are faced with the same dilemma as we are today."

It is therefore a matter of fundamentally changing the priorities in budgetary policy.

If you have to set new priorities, that means that things cannot go on as before.

Merz outlined the consequences of his analysis in the following words: "There is simply not much scope in the public budgets for extensive relief for private households and companies in Germany." One could do one or the other, but every reduction in growth expectations and every increase in Monetary depreciation will not be able to be compensated for with public funds.

"We will probably have reached, if not exceeded, our prosperity peak in Germany for a long time," said the CDU chairman.

After the Chancellor's announcement of the special budget of 100 billion, there were voices in the SPD and Greens who suggested that this huge sum should not be spent solely on military purposes, but rather that other peacekeeping or development aid projects should also be used in the sense of a comprehensive concept of security be financed with it.

Foreign Minister Baerbock said these tasks would now be financed differently.

The Union parties had previously opposed such an opening in the use of the funds and announced that they wanted to be involved in the decisions on which projects the money should be spent.

In addition, a repayment plan should be drawn up to clarify the repayment of the debt.