“A new reality,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a rousing speech Sunday at a special session. The normally low-key Chancellor Scholz stated that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine demanded a dramatic different response from Germany than in past.
Scholz stated that President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday created a new reality. His speech was repeatedly met with applause, especially his criticisms of the Russian leader. “This reality requires a clear answer. We have one.
Scholz stated that Germany sends anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and surface-to air missiles to Ukraine. Scholz also stated that Germany is investing 100 billion euros ($113 million) in a special fund to support its armed forces. This will allow it to increase its defense spending beyond 2 percent of its GDP, which has been a long-standing goal.
Germany’s pivot was a powerful example of how fundamentally Russia is changing Europe’s post-World War II security policies.
Germany’s foreign policies have been marked by a strong aversion towards the use of military force for a long time. German politicians attribute this to its history of military aggression against its neighbours in the 20th century.
Although the United States is a strong ally and NATO member, Germany post-war tried to maintain good relations with Moscow. This was a policy driven also by business interests and Germany’s energy needs.
Marcel Dirsus, a nonresident fellow from the University of Kiel’s Institute for Security Policy, stated that many of the things Olaf Scholz mentioned would have been impossible even months ago. It’s clear that Russia has gone too far. Germany is finally waking up.
Despite growing international criticism of its hesitation, the German government refused to send weapons to Ukraine until this weekend.
Then, a series announcements that began Saturday night rocked the traditional German policy paradigms.
It started with the government announcing that they would allow 400 German-made antitank weapons to be shipped from the Netherlands to Ukraine. This was something it had so far refused to do.
The chancellor’s Office soon followed up and stated that it would send its weapons directly to Ukraine, including 1,000 anti-tank weapons as well as 500 “Stinger”, surface-to-air missiles. It also pledged to ban Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system. This was something that German leaders had resisted.
Sunday saw the break with the past continue, as Scholz committed to increasing defense spending.
These developments are all the more remarkable considering that they follow another historic decision last Wednesday, when Germany stopped the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline coming from Russia.
The country’s refusal to send German-made arms to Ukraine has drawn criticism from NATO allies in the recent weeks. Germany is a major weapon exporter in the world, having exported weapons worth 9.35 billion euros by 2021. However, it has always maintained a policy of not sending deadly weapons to conflict areas. German leaders refused to send more than 5,000 helmets for Ukraine aid until Saturday.
Scholz’s announcement on Sunday regarding defense spending will at least temporarily put to rest criticisms that Germany isn’t contributing enough to NATO and its own defense.
Former President Donald Trump was fondly interested in the country because it failed to spend 2 per cent of its GDP on defense. This is a goal for NATO members. NATO data shows that Berlin spent 1.53 percent of its GDP in 2021, which is almost $65 billion. Since several years, its budget has been increasing annually.
Berlin resisted any new spending and insisted that Germany was investing enough money to meet NATO’s military needs. Officials noted that Berlin’s defense budget could be more than that of Russia and might make its European neighbors nervous.
After the Cold War ended, NATO countries cut their military budgets. However, they were re-incited to act when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in 2014. Allies agreed to stop the cuts in 2014 and spend 2 percent of their GDP by 2024.
German officials supported their policy U-turn with the statement that it was a necessary adjustment to a new norm.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock stated Sunday that Ukraine cannot be left defenseless against an aggressor. “If the world is different, then politics must also be different.”
Many of the leaders of Ukraine and European allies who had been harshest on Germany in recent weeks praised the decisions.
After the announcement of weapons shipments, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, tweeted Saturday night: “Keep it up! @Chancellor@OlafScholz!” “Anti-war coalition in action!”
