Germany points to Russia as “the greatest threat to peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic space” and to China as a “systemic partner, competitor and rival” that increasingly acts “against our values ??and interests”, within its new national security strategy, presented yesterday in Berlin by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the foreign, finance, interior and defense ministers. “For the first time in the history of our country we have developed a national security strategy; before we had the white paper, which was limited to Defense, and now we want to cover all aspects that have to do with security”, said Scholz.
Thus, as a novelty since the end of the Second World War, Germany now has an interdepartmental strategy for internal security and foreign geopolitics, which involves both the federal government and the 16 länder (federated states) that make up the country.
The text, approved yesterday by the Executive of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals after months of deliberation, and less ambitious than expected, identifies cyber attacks as a serious risk, and reiterates the objective of spending 2% of GDP on defense (in line with what NATO asks of member countries) as of next year. The finance minister, the liberal Christian Lindner, said that it would be done with special items, to avoid massive cuts in other budget areas and not raise taxes.
“China is attempting in various ways to reshape the existing rules-based international order, increasingly offensively claiming regional supremacy, and relentlessly acting against our values ??and interests,” the 70-page document reads. About Russia he says that “the attack war against Ukraine is a radical break with the Charter of the United Nations and with the European security order based on cooperation.”
Establishing a national security strategy was included in the coalition pact signed by the three parties in December 2021. “We wanted to do this already before the Russian attack on Ukraine, before the war that continues, and before the explosions at the Nord gas pipelines. Stream,” insisted Scholz.
“National security is no longer just military and diplomacy, it encompasses more aspects,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whose ministry is in charge of coordination. “Security is also knowing that the necessary medicines are available in pharmacies, that when chatting with friends you are not spied on by the Chinese, and that when using social networks there is no manipulation by Russian bots,” she continued.
For this reason, the new scheme includes not only the already announced reinforcement of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) and improvements in the coordination of civil protection, but also the supply of raw materials and energy to thus defend “our free and democratic basic order against influences illegitimate from abroad”, as well as food security, pandemic prevention and climate change.
There will not be a National Security Council, as the liberal partners wanted and the SPD blessed, because it would have been placed in the orbit of the Foreign Ministry –which already decides the main lines of foreign policy– to the detriment of the Foreign Ministry, in hands of the greens, who did not want to lose pre-eminence. The ministers of Defense, Boris Pistorius, and Interior, Nancy Faeser, both Social Democrats like the chancellor, also participated in the press conference.
The government parties have taken long months to unify criteria. They wanted to have presented the text last February, before the Munich Security Conference, but the tensions in the coalition due to and the discrepancies between the federal government and the regional governments –responsible for many police powers and civil protection in the event of catastrophes natural and accidents – prevented it. It was then wanted to have it ready for May, but it was not possible either. And so until yesterday.
