Germany: 100 billion perpetuated to resuscitate an under-equipped army

German army tanks parked at the Hindenburg site in the city of Munster in February 2022. (Illustration).

AFP - GREGOR FISCHER

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

This was the promise made three months ago for the Bundeswehr.

The announcement of this unprecedented fund of 100 billion was seen as a turning point in a country that has long neglected its army.

The fund will be made permanent by being enshrined in the Constitution and will not be counted in the budget deficit.

Laborious discussions were necessary before Sunday's agreement.

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With our correspondent in Berlin,

Pascal Thibault

"

Germany needs planes that fly, ships that take to the sea and soldiers who are properly equipped

."

In his speech to the Bundestag a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Olaf Scholz had surprised his world with an announcement which was to break with the chronic underfunding of the Bundeswehr.

A fund of 100 billion euros was to make it possible to upgrade an under-equipped army.

The fund must be anchored in the Constitution to be guaranteed, which requires the agreement of the Conservatives to reach the necessary two-thirds qualified majority.

Used only for military equipment

For the Minister of Finance - Liberal - who wants to return next year to the strict budgetary rules suspended due to the pandemic, the fund has the advantage of not being taken into account in the calculation of the deficit.

Laborious discussions preceded the agreement, this Sunday, May 29.

The fund will only be used for military equipment as the Christian Democrats wanted.

In the medium term, Germany wants to respect the objective set by NATO of devoting 2% of its gross domestic product to military expenditure.

But will the Minister of Finance who wants to reduce deficits accept it?

And will the budgetary windfall be used wisely?

The extremely long delays between orders for equipment and their delivery imply structural reforms at the Bundeswehr which will take time for the extra money to make sense. 

To read also:

The Bundeswehr is trying to improve its image

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  • Germany

  • Defense

  • NATO

  • Olaf Scholz