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Boris Pistorius

Photo: IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen / IMAGO/Chris Emil Janßen

Boris Pistorius has warned of the dangers of war in Europe and called for the modernisation of the Bundeswehr. "We have to get used to the idea that there could be a threat of war in Europe. And that means that we have to become fit for war. We have to defend ourselves. And to set up the Bundeswehr and society for it," said the SPD politician on Sunday evening in the ZDF program "Berlin direkt."

Pistorius did not accept accusations that the modernization of the Bundeswehr was going too slowly. "You can't get much more speed than that," he said. Two-thirds of the 100 billion euro special fund has already been contractually committed. However, production and deliveries take time, the minister admitted. At the same time, structures in the Bundeswehr are in the process of being changed.

Referring to the past 30 years without a bloc confrontation in Europe, the minister said: "All that has been screwed up in 30 years, sorry if I say so, and has been run down, cannot be made up for in 19 months." In three, four or five years, however, the Bundeswehr will look completely different. At the same time, Pistorius emphasized that the Bundeswehr is already one of the strongest NATO forces in Europe.

Greens call for more money for the Bundeswehr and security agencies

In view of increasing violent conflicts in the world and terrorist threats in Germany, leading politicians of the Greens are also calling for more money and better equipment for the Bundeswehr and police. In an interview with the FAZ, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck called for a timely debate on the financing of the Bundeswehr after the expiry of the 100 billion euro special fund. Green Party leader Omid Nouripour told the newspapers of the Funke media group that the security authorities in Germany must be strengthened.

The German government had set up the special fund for the Bundeswehr after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had linked this with the term "Zeitenwende" and promised that Germany would invest two percent of its gross domestic product in defense with immediate effect.

dop/dpa