As of: January 31, 2024, 7:09 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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After the special fund expires, the Bundeswehr is apparently missing around 56 billion euros, as a report showed (symbolic image).
© Imago/Zoonar.com/Klaus Ohlenschlaeger
Internal calculations by the Ministry of Defense show: In four years the Bundeswehr will be short of 56 billion euros.
And the need for investment remains high due to the threat situation.
Berlin – It was supposed to be a turning point, but so far little money has been received by the Bundeswehr.
When the 100 billion special fund expires, things will apparently look even bleaker: According to a report by Spiegel
, in 2028 there will be
a 56 billion euro hole in the budget of the currently “conditionally operational” force.
The paper refers to an internal financial needs analysis by the Ministry of Defense.
Operating expenses, maintenance, new purchases: Bundeswehr bottleneck of 56 billion euros
The good news: In 2024, Germany will for the first time meet the NATO target of spending two percent of economic output on defense.
The less good ones: This only works thanks to the use of the funds from the special fund.
Apparently the financial plan for the Bundeswehr is anything but sustainable.
The federal government would have to spend significantly more money in order to permanently bring defense spending to a level that would meet NATO's goals and at the same time adequately equip the German army.
It has long been clear that the budget for this is tight.
How close can now be quantified.
Apparently, planners at the Ministry of Defense calculated how much money would be needed to pay for operating expenses, maintenance and new purchases for the German troops.
In 2028, the Bundeswehr would need 97 billion euros,
Spiegel
reported on Wednesday (January 31).
The force will need an additional 10.8 billion euros for foreseeable further needs, it was said.
However, this total requirement of 107.8 billion euros would only be offset by 51.9 billion euros from the regular defense budget.
The difference between the required 107.8 billion and the updated defense budget results in a gap of around 56 billion euros, according to the report.
Criticism from the opposition: “Nobody will be able to shift 56 billion euros in 2028”
The Ministry of Defense is therefore not assuming that the defense budget will increase in the coming years.
If the calculated 107.8 billion euros were spent in 2028, the NATO target of two percent of gross domestic product would at least be achieved.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense emphasized that the defense budget alone would not be used to achieve the two percent target.
It is also about money from other budget areas.
For a “robust” basis for discussion, we would have to wait for “the negotiations that are now being conducted within the government,” the spokesman emphasized, according to
Spiegel
.
Criticism of the calculated funding gap in the Bundeswehr came from the opposition: “In 2028, no matter who is in government, no one will be able to shift 56 billion euros into the defense budget overnight,” said Ingo Gädechens (CDU).
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has also been insisting for a long time that more money should be made available to the Bundeswehr on a permanent basis and points to a great need for investment in view of the general threat situation.
“Although we have now contractually bound around two thirds of the special fund, i.e. well over 60 billion euros, we will still have to buy weapons and ammunition in the coming years in order to adequately equip our Bundeswehr,” said Pistorius in an interview with Spiegel
.