<div id="firstBodyDiv" data-bind-html-content-type="article" data-bind-html-compile="article.body" data-first-article-body="
The parties participating in the government coalition agreed, with the two main opposition parties, Christian Democratic Union AndChristian Social Unionon the creation of a fund for the army worth 100 billion euros, which would enable the achievement of a goal "NATO"represented by each member state spending 2% of its GDP on defense, which today is estimated to be around €70 billion for Germany.
The move forward in this historic step comes in Germany, weeks after the German chancellor announced Olaf Schultzin front of deputies BundestagThe establishment of a special fund aimed at strengthening the defense system of the armed forces, specifically on February 27, just 3 days after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Schultz said at the time: "It is clear that we need to invest significantly in the security of our country; In order to guarantee our freedom and democracy".
Analysts and military experts believe that the war in Ukraine Pushed the largest economic power in Europe To bring about a noticeable change in its defense policy, among a series of security transformations in Europe, within its intention to return as a formidable military power, in contrast to the policy that Berlin has followed since the end of the Cold War by reducing the capabilities of the army, by 500,000 soldiers in 1990 to 200,000 at the present time. .
German reports have indicated that the military capabilities of the German army have declined significantly in recent years, as less than 30 percent of warships are operating at full capacity, while many combat aircraft are not airworthy.
Criticisms of the status quo
The Director of European Union Affairs at the International Crisis Group, Giuseppe Fama, said: "The German government’s decision comes in contrast to the decades-old policy not to increase the defense budget and the constant reluctance to use military force, so that the army received a lot of criticism as a result of the situation in which it has become, with the decline in its capabilities and the number of forces operating in it.".
Fama indicated in statements to the site "Sky News Arabia"until it "Although Berlin is one of the most prominent European countries in terms of military industries, it relies heavily on the presence of US forces on its soil".
About 34,000 American soldiers have been stationed on German soil since the end of World War II, as a security guarantee and an essential political link between the two countries.
Increase military spending
Fama stressed that the German government’s decision "pays to increase Military budget To more than 2 percent, according to the agreement between NATO countries to reach that percentage by 2024, and thus help to re-equip the army more, and develop weapons".
In this regard, the researcher specializing in defense policies, Mohamed Hassan, agreed, who said that Germany, which is the number one power in the eurozone, decided with a group of countries in the region, led by Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France and Italy, to increase its defense expenditures to no less than 2% of the total. its gross domestic product.
Hassan explained that "This step, which was agreed upon at the Brussels summit last March, is a precedent in the history of the European bloc, which adopted policies aimed at gradually reducing defense spending, and keeping it below the 2 percent barrier of GDP.".
He pointed out that "The Russian military operation in Ukraine awakened the security concerns of European countries, which often woke up to poor conditions for their armed forces that impeded their implementation of some missions outside the borders, and for this reason the focus was placed on the concept of acting independently for European countries with regard to their defensive response".
An exceptional decision… and an update of capabilities
The researcher in defense policies considers the German government’s decision as "exceptional"Because he "It jumped out of the 2% allocated to defense expenditures by about 30 billion euros, to offer a lot to the German defense industry complex. The German weaponry has a good reputation in the world, specifically the naval weapons of frigates and submarines, which makes German investments in the modernization of the army taken into account.".
He added: "The fact that Germany has the ability to act independently through qualitative weapons is a significant difference in the European security environment as a whole, given the contexts of Germany’s 6 decades of reticence to militarily engage in missions abroad.".
Hassan explained that "The German Air Force will receive the lion’s share of the €100 billion package, as it suffers from miserable conditions. In 2018, the Air Force had 4 Eurofighters ready to carry out the tasks, out of a total fleet of 128 fighters of the same model.".
According to reports, the German Air Force is on the way to acquire 40 billion euros, which will include the purchase of 35 stealth fighters. "F35"and 15 fighters "Euro Typhoon"And investing in the joint fighter project with France, in addition to modernizing the fleet of drones and tactical transport of heavy helicopters, and taking out fighters "Tornado" of service.
The defense policy researcher concluded his speech, saying: "Germany has the ability to make a difference, especially if we look at the seriousness of the new trend in modernizing the armed forces, and the desire to possess one of the strongest, most capable and well-armed armies in Europe.".
“>
The parties participating in the government coalition agreed, with the two main opposition parties, Christian Democratic Union AndChristian Social Unionto create a fund for the army worth 100 billion euros, which would enable the achievement of the “NATO” goal of spending each member state 2 percent of its GDP on defense, which today is estimated at about 70 billion euros for Germany.
The move forward in this historic step comes in Germany, weeks after the German chancellor announced Olaf Schultzin front of deputies BundestagThe establishment of a special fund aimed at strengthening the defense system of the armed forces, specifically on February 27, just 3 days after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
“It is clear that we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country in order to guarantee our freedom and our democracy,” Schultz said at the time.
Analysts and military experts believe that the war in Ukraine Pushed the largest economic power in Europe To bring about a noticeable change in its defense policy, among a series of security transformations in Europe, within its intention to return as a formidable military power, in contrast to the policy that Berlin has followed since the end of the Cold War by reducing the capabilities of the army, by 500,000 soldiers in 1990 to 200,000 at the present time. .
German reports have indicated that the military capabilities of the German army have declined significantly in recent years, as less than 30 percent of warships are operating at full capacity, while many combat aircraft are not airworthy.
Criticisms of the status quo
And the Director of European Union Affairs at the International Crisis Group, Giuseppe Fama, considered that “the German government’s decision comes in contravention of the decades-old policy not to increase the defense budget and the constant reluctance to use military force, so that the army received a lot of criticism as a result of the situation in which it has become with a decline in its capabilities and the number of troops. working in it.”
Fama said in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, “Although Berlin is one of the most prominent European countries in terms of military industries, it depends heavily on the presence of American forces on its soil.”
About 34,000 American soldiers have been stationed on German soil since the end of World War II, as a security guarantee and an essential political link between the two countries.
Increase military spending
Fama stressed that the German government’s decision “provides an increase in Military budget To more than 2 percent, according to the agreement between NATO countries to reach that percentage by 2024, and thus help to re-equip the army more, and develop weapons.
In this regard, the researcher specializing in defense policies, Mohamed Hassan, agreed, who said that Germany, which is the number one power in the eurozone, decided with a group of countries in the region, led by Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France and Italy, to increase its defense expenditures to no less than 2% of the total. its gross domestic product.
Hassan explained that “this step, which was agreed upon at the Brussels summit last March, is a precedent in the history of the European bloc, which adopted policies aimed at gradually reducing defense expenditures, and keeping them below the 2 percent barrier of GDP.”
He pointed out that “the Russian military operation in Ukraine awakened the security concerns of European countries, which often woke up to bad conditions for their armed forces that impeded their implementation of some missions outside the borders, and for this reason the focus was placed on the concept of acting independently for European countries with regard to their defensive response.”
An exceptional decision… and an update of capabilities
The defense policy researcher considers the German government’s decision as “exceptional”, because it “jumped out of the 2% space allocated for defense expenditures by about 30 billion euros, to provide a lot for the German defense industry complex, as German weapons have a good reputation in the world, specifically naval weapons from frigates.” and submarines, which makes German investments in the modernization of the army taken into account.”
He added: “Germany’s ability to act independently with specific weapons is a significant difference in the European security environment as a whole, given the contexts of the German reservation for six decades, to militarily engage in missions abroad.”
Hassan explained that, “The German Air Force will take the lion’s share of the 100 billion euro package, as it suffers from miserable conditions. In 2018, the Air Force had 4 Eurofighters ready to carry out the tasks, out of a total fleet of 128 fighters of the same model.” “.
According to reports, the German Air Force is on the way to acquire 40 billion euros, which will include the purchase of 35 F-35 stealth fighters, 15 Euro Typhoon fighters, and investments in the joint fighter project with France, in addition to modernizing the drone fleet. Tactical transport of heavy helicopters, and removal of “Tornado” fighters from service.
The defense policy researcher concluded his speech, saying: “Germany has the ability to make a difference, especially if we look at the seriousness of the new trend in modernizing the armed forces, and the desire to possess one of Europe’s strongest, most capable and well-armed armies.”