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Germany’s Scholz announces 100bn euros for German army

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced a massive increase in military spending in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.

The 2022 federal budget should be provided with a one-time special fund of 100 billion euros for “necessary investments and armament projects”, Scholz said on Sunday in the Bundestag.

He added: “From now on we will invest more than two percent of the gross domestic product in our defense every year.”

“The goal is an efficient, ultra-modern, progressive Bundeswehr that protects us reliably,” said the Chancellor. “This is a national effort.” Scholz continued: “We need planes that fly, ships that set sail and soldiers who are optimally equipped for their missions – and that’s achievable for a country of our size and our importance in Europe.”

The additional military spending has already been agreed with Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), said Scholz.

Scholz signaled the increase in military spending was necessary as Germany now faced a “new era”. He noted that the question facing Western allies was whether they can muster enough power to set limits for “warmongers” like Vladimir Putin.

“In essence, it’s a question of whether might can break right,” he said in his speech during a special parliamentary sitting.

“We will set up a special ‘Bundeswehr’ fund,” Scholz told parliament, adding that the budget will be used for investments and armaments projects. He also noted that he plans to enshrine the fund in the country’s Basic Law.

The significance of this move was highlighted by Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. He wrote that “Scholz just dismantled almost every SPD policy towards Russia over the past 3 decades in one speech”. Scholz represents the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

On Saturday, Scholz dropped another longstanding policy of refusing to send weapons into conflict zones. He approved military support for Dutch munitions heading for Ukraine, and announced that Germany would deliver its own anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukrainian forces.

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