Against the background of the Ukraine war, the Junge Union (JU) is planning to increase the pressure on its parent parties, the CDU and CSU, to quickly remedy the structural weaknesses of the German armed forces.

This emerges from the main application of the application commission, on which the youth organization will be voted on on Saturday at the party's Germany Day in Fulda.

Lorenz Hemicker

Editor in Politics

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According to this, the Union should in future not only anchor the full equipment of the Bundeswehr as a goal in the future basic program and in election programs, but also make it “a coalition condition”.

The lack of equipment for the troops is said to be the result of a policy "based on the principle of hope and peace dividends" that has been pursued in recent years.

This can also be read as indirect criticism of the Union.

Finally, in the period from 2005 to 2021, the CDU and CSU were without exception the defense ministers.

Clear criticism is the application in the direction of the traffic light.

The hundred billion dollar special fund is welcomed.

But it's not enough.

"A sustainable turning point needs more than just a special fund."

The lead motion also states that the Bundeswehr must be equipped in such a way that the NATO requirements with a view to the time it takes for troops to be ready for deployment in theaters of operations (“notice-to-effect”) and the ammunition stocks are met.

NATO usually provides reserves for 30 days of combat.

In fact, most Bundeswehr units have enough ammunition for a few days at most.

In addition to a powerful Bundeswehr, the lead motion calls for more public pledges to be made.

Command and office structures should be streamlined and more emphasis placed on more combat-capable troops according to the principle "every man a rifleman".

It is also said that the procurement system should be streamlined and the basis for active cyber defense - i.e. offensive capability - laid.

For Ukraine, the lead motion also calls for a land lease program based on a corresponding program from the Second World War.

For the NATO alliance area, a "light state of tension" should be demanded, which enables low-threshold access to parts of the security and precautionary laws and makes it possible