SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich calls for the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Germany and thus meets with opposition from the coalition partner.
Berlin (dpa) - The Union intensifies its criticism of the SPD leadership's move to end the stationing of US nuclear weapons in Germany.
"The naivety of parts of the SPD leadership is dangerous for Germany's security," said defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Henning Otte, the German press agency in Berlin.
SPD faction leader Rolf Mützenich had told the "Tagesspiegel": "It is time for Germany to exclude the stationing in the future." He received support from the SPD co-chair Norbert Walter-Borjans, who made similar comments in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung".
Discussions are underway within the grand coalition to replace the outdated Air Force tornado fleet. Germany is also using this for so-called nuclear participation - a NATO deterrent concept in which allies have access to US nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) plans to procure US F-18 combat aircraft.
"Nuclear participation is an important building block in our security architecture. It guarantees us credibility in shaping NATO's defense-oriented nuclear strategy," said Otte. Especially in these times of tense security policy, it applies that "more own influence is better than less influence".
"The Union shares the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. But as long as these weapons exist outside of NATO, deterrence remains the guarantor of our security," said Otte. "Incidentally, the SPD-led Federal Foreign Office has also committed itself to this in the cross-departmental white paper."
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