Joint statement on the debate on future defence spending and achieving deterrence and defence capabilities

The Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022 at the latest opened our eyes in Germany once again to the fact that our security and peace cannot be taken for granted. We do not get them for "free", but they are based on our ability to prevent attacks on our free way of life through deterrence and, in an emergency, to defend ourselves effectively militarily.

Germany has long been a member of the North Atlantic Alliance. All 32 NATO nations contribute to the defence of the West. The target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) set at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales for each individual NATO member to spend on its armed forces by 2024 at the latest has been regarded as a lower limit, a minimum value, since the Vilnius summit in 2023. The special Bundeswehr fund of an additional 100 billion euros agreed immediately after the Russian attack was a decisive and overdue step in this direction, but it is nowhere near enough to cover the Bundeswehr's requirements.

This special fund will be exhausted by 2027 at the latest. Time and again, members of the Federal Government, above all the Federal Chancellor since his groundbreaking government declaration on the Ukraine war on 27 February 2022, have promised that from now on the target of spending 2 % of German GDP on defence will always be met, if not exceeded.

However, the official budget planning speaks a different language: the current medium-term financial planning of the Federal Government sees the budget of the Federal Ministry of Defence "frozen" at a constant 52 billion euros for the coming years, a figure that will only cover the fixed costs of the Bundeswehr in two years' time, leaving no room for additional and new procurements. From the Bundeswehr's point of view, however, such further procurements are indispensable in order to be able to provide the NATO capabilities required for deterrence. The "gap" between current medium-term financial planning and the funds actually required by the Bundeswehr is already widening in 2025, which is why Federal Defence Minister Pistorius has already called for additional funds of 6.5 billion euros for the coming year. We - the undersigned - are committed to ensuring that the Bundeswehr is already allocated the funds corresponding to its anticipated requirements in the upcoming budget planning. These are above the promised 2 % of GDP, i.e. by 2028 probably in the order of around a further 100 billion euros, and are urgently needed. They are urgently needed - to equip the soldiers serving in the Bundeswehr with the best possible equipment for their deployment, - to enable Germany to make its alliance contribution to achieving deterrence and defence capabilities as quickly and comprehensively as possible, - to be able to fulfil the promises we have made to NATO beyond 2025, - to provide the German security and defence industry with a reliable planning basis so that it can continue to adapt or ramp up its production capacities.

It is not our task, but that of those politically responsible, to decide how these funds can be mobilised: Through another special fund, by relaxing the debt brake or by politically reprioritising existing funds. We are convinced that the willingness of citizens to once again support extraordinary ways of mobilising such funds is greater than is generally assumed. We echo the words of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference 2023: Spending more money on security and defence always means at the same time having less money available for other important tasks. But can there be anything more important than our security and the maintenance of peace?

Berlin, 05 June 2024

Dr Michael Schöllhorn
President
Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry. e.V.

Claus Günther
President
German Society for Defence Technology

Former GenMaj. Wolfgang Köpke
President
Förderkreis Deutsches Heer e.V.

Retired Colonel Prof Dr Patrick Sensburg
President
Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces