Washington / Mainz (dpa / lrs) – According to Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD), Rhineland-Palatinate will “experience an incredible increase in importance” as a hub for NATO’s eastern flank. This is his impression after talks with the Pentagon, the State Department and with members of Congress responsible for the military budget in Washington, Lewentz told the German Press Agency in Mainz.
The US government budget for fiscal year 2023 provides for investments of US$ 506 million in the Baumholder and Weilerbach military sites. In addition, investments of more than one billion US dollars are planned for the next few years.
The government’s budget for 2023 budgeted $207 million for Baumholder to build homes for families and schools, as well as a new headquarters for an additional deployment. Lewentz has not yet made any statements about the new unit.
Another 299 million euros are planned for the new hospital in Weilerbach. “This is the largest military project outside of the United States.” The contract with the general contractor has been signed and construction is expected to start in the third quarter of this year. “Of course, the entire construction volume is significantly higher. But that makes it clear that we will start this year.”
“In the last few months and years we have been able to prove that the Ramstein hub, but of course also with the large supply possibilities from Kaiserslautern, is flexible and capable of being relocated quickly,” said Lewentz. This is seen in the US.
“The interaction of the locations in Rhineland-Palatinate works.” The most important locations are Spangdahlem and Ramstein for the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kaiserslautern and Baumholder for the Army. Rhineland-Palatinate is, according to the impression of all those he spoke to, “the most important hub for carrying out the American engagement on NATO’s eastern flank”.
There is the greatest respect for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD) decision to “pack the 100 billion euro package for the Bundeswehr”. “And that brings us into a completely different culture of discussion than in the last few years of the Trump administration,” emphasized Lewentz. “In America, people rely very heavily on a strong Germany.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220406-99-813002/2
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