German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock and Defense Minister Kristini Lambrecht demand from Finance Minister Christian Lindner significantly more funds for next year to provide military support to Ukraine. This is reported by Spiegel with reference to the letter of the two ministers.
Burbock and Lambrecht are referring to a special fund for arms aid of 2.2 billion euros. Only with such a budget, they believe, could Germany "concretely and visibly take on the responsibility expected by our international partners."
Already at the beginning of the letter, the ministers criticize the fact that only 697 million euros are planned for the so-called "educational article" in the 2023 budget. In 2022, the government financed the direct supply of weapons from the defense industry to Ukraine or the so-called "circular exchange" from a special fund. According to Berbock and Lambrecht, this fund "turned out to be a central financial instrument" for arms assistance. For example, Berlin paid for tanks that the Czech Republic or Greece received to replace the old systems they supplied to Ukraine.
In particular, ministers want Lindner to significantly increase the special fund when the budget is finalized in mid-November. According to them, the previously planned budget reduces the room for maneuver "to a minimum that is no longer politically justified." Instead of the planned 697 million euros, Lindner should therefore plan for a good one and a half billion euros more. In addition, the minister should make possible the conclusion by both chambers of the so-called declarations of obligations in the amount of another one billion for multi-year weapons projects in 2023.
Berbock and Lambrecht argue that "Berlin's ability to act in foreign policy and security and its international reputation" depend on how well equipped the special fund is. 2022 showed that "maximum flexibility" is needed to support Ukraine in developing "super-sophisticated military capabilities." So far, the federal government has proven it can be fast and efficient. To maintain this pace, according to the Ministers, help is urgently needed.
It is difficult to predict whether Lindner will be able to comply with the request. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has recently repeatedly repeated that Germany will support Ukraine with weapons as long as necessary. Recently, Lambrecht proudly announced that one of the four IRIS-T air defense systems was transferred to Ukraine. The budget of the four IRIS-T systems alone is well over €500 million.
At the same time, Lindner does not have infinite resources either. Federal finances for 2023 are already under significant pressure from large aid packages to offset rising energy prices. Lindner several times asked his colleagues in the office to save money. Perhaps, the publication notes, this is one of the reasons why Berbock and Lambrecht mention in their letter about the great international expectations that Germany has to live up to.