Union considering defense debt and aid to Ukraine

November 2, 2024, 10:02 am

Berlin. Top politicians from the CDU and CSU are considering spending money on the Bundeswehr and supporting Ukraine through loans in the future.

Among them are the deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Johan Wadephul (CDU), the parliamentary group’s specialist spokesperson for transatlantic relations, Thomas Silberhorn, and the chairman of the Union’s Human Rights Committee, Knut Abraham. Roderich Kiesewetter, the group’s first man on the secret services control committee, had discussed similar issues before. The parties of the Union have indeed decided to respect the breach of the Basic Law.

Silberhorn said in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (FAS) that the “special fund” of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr approved in 2022 is now “almost planned”. If NATO’s two hundred target is to be achieved, the defense budget must be “increased by ten billion euros per year” for several years starting in 2026. But since “no one” has yet defined ” where is this money going to come from in such a short period of time,” “interim finance” is needed to make up for the “difference”. “We still have to see how we do that.”

Abraham asked the FAS that “nothing should be prohibited” regarding loans to finance the Bundeswehr, that “one hand should not be tied” and that “all options must be considered”. “If you reject everything that is possible in advance, you take away political freedom.”

Wadephul had already said on October 16 at an event in Ukraine organized by the Center for Liberal Modernity in Berlin, that with the current situation, one had to ask oneself “do we need to raise new money. “

However, such considerations are not a consensus in the Union. The spokesman of the parliamentary group of the Defense Committee, Florian Hahn (CSU), told the FAS that he rejected “new special funds or new debts”. A spokesperson for the CDU responded to the FAS’ question whether party leader Friedrich Merz was also considering raising new funds to support Ukraine with the sentence: “We politely ask for your understanding that Friedrich Merz to comment on this at the minute.”

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