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CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt: Chancellor Scholz should help clarify contradictions in the Taurus debate.
© Serhat Kocak/dpa
Could Ukraine use Taurus cruise missiles only with German help - or without?
The Union accuses the Chancellor of misinforming the population.
She demands clarification.
Berlin - Before the renewed discussions in the Bundestag about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, the Union faction is threatening to launch an investigative committee.
If necessary, this should clarify how Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) came to the statement that the weapon system could only be used with the participation of German soldiers, said CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt in Berlin.
“The target of an investigative committee would be the Federal Chancellor and the question of how he comes to make statements to the public that are clearly not backed up by the German military and the Taurus manufacturer.”
The Union faction had already brought up the idea of setting up an investigative committee after the Taurus wiretapping affair became known.
However, the question was how Russia managed to eavesdrop on a conversation between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers about a possible Taurus deployment.
Taurus deployment only with the participation of German soldiers?
During this conversation it was also discussed that, under certain conditions, the weapon system could also be used without German participation.
However, Scholz has since stated several times that a Taurus deployment would only be possible with the participation of German personnel.
In the Chancellor's view, doing this would increase the risk that Germany would be drawn into the war.
If Scholz were to help clarify these contradictions, the debate would quickly calm down, said Dobrindt.
Questions arose such as: “At the time he made these statements, was he not aware that no German soldiers were necessary to use the Taurus cruise missiles?
Why did he have no knowledge of this and still come to such a statement?
Or did he know about it and just forgot about it before his statement?
The last variant would be: He knew the statement and still informed the public differently.”
Government survey and vote in the Bundestag
The Union wants to ask the Chancellor these questions in the government survey this Wednesday in the Bundestag.
On Thursday, the Bundestag will vote on a motion from the Union calling for the immediate delivery of Taurus systems to Ukraine.
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The first parliamentary managing director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, assumed on Tuesday that his group would unanimously agree to this.
“I'm not worried about that at all.” It's difficult to estimate how many MPs from the SPD, Greens and FDP will join.
Frei admitted that, according to opinion polls, the Union does not have a majority in the population for its Taurus demand.
However, Scholz contributed to people's uncertainty.
At the same time, the CDU politician emphasized that “we do not base our actions on moods”.
The Union is acting this way because it is convinced that delivering the cruise missiles is right and necessary.
Green parliamentary group leader: Will not approve the Union proposal on Taurus
According to their chairwoman Britta Haßelmann, the Greens in the Bundestag want to reject the Union faction's upcoming proposal to supply German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Haßelmann explained this after her parliamentary group's meeting in the Bundestag.
It was “quite obvious” that part of the Union faction wanted to “make a contribution to domestic policy” with the application initiative, she explained.
“I do not share this intention and we will not support it either.” At the same time, Haßelmann emphasized that it was fundamentally clear to her group that the Taurus system “should and can be part of supporting Ukraine in its defensive fight against Russia.”
Haßelmann emphasized that the Union faction's planned application would neither deliver a single weapon system to Ukraine nor improve the situation for the people in Ukraine.
The government coalition's support for the attacked country will remain "strong and clear," she promised.
FDP accuses Union of “symbolic politics” at Taurus
According to its chairman Christian Dürr, the FDP parliamentary group supports a Taurus delivery to Ukraine, but will not agree to a request from the Union to do so.
“We think it's the right thing to do, no question about it, but these symbolic proposals don't really get us anywhere,” said Dürr in Berlin.
The federal government, not the Bundestag, decides whether to deliver the cruise missiles.
The photo released by the Bundeswehr shows a Taurus guided missile over sea as part of the “Two Oceans” exercise.
© Bundeswehr/Bundeswehr/dpa
With a view to MPs like defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who wants to vote for the Union proposal, the parliamentary group leader emphasized again: “There are no changing majorities in coalition governments (...).” Strack-Zimmermann already had a meeting last week The Bundestag voted in favor of a Union motion demanding the immediate delivery of the weapon system to Ukraine.
FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki later said in an interview that he was close to doing the same.
According to Kubicki, at least twelve FDP MPs could now vote for the Union proposal if it does not bash the traffic lights and the Chancellor.
Dürr emphasized that Kubicki had also said that he could not vote for any motions that were ultimately just symbolic politics.
“In reality, the Union is more interested in dividing parliament, obviously, and not in increasing support for Ukraine,” criticized the group leader.
dpa