From the perspective of Union defense expert Florian Hahn (CSU), the Bundeswehr needs significantly more money. . In view of austerity constraints, difficult negotiations are currently underway in the federal government about the 2025 budget. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is said to be demanding significantly more money for the Bundeswehr.
“The underfunding of the Bundeswehr and thus the defense budget is obvious and increasingly a sign of an erroneous policy of omission by this federal government in matters of our security,” said the defense policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group of the German Press Agency.
Hahn called for a “strong and continuous” increase in the defense budget – in order to manage the growing tasks of the Bundeswehr for ongoing operations, intensive training activities, the establishment of the Lithuania Brigade and further investments in full equipment beyond the 100 billion special fund. It was not for nothing that Pistorius had previously demanded 10 billion euros more per year; this seemed a first realistic and necessary step. The fact that Pistorius had already been turned down by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) shows how weak his standing in the cabinet is and how seriously the traffic light coalition is taking its own “turning point,” said Hahn – namely not at all.
“The ongoing haggling over much smaller sums within the federal government is just further evidence of this. “I expect that Federal Minister Pistorius, who seems to be the only one in this government to have recognized the urgency of the situation, will finally get the funds for the Bundeswehr, which they need more urgently than ever,” said Hahn. “But I’m afraid he won’t be able to get his way with it once again. So he becomes more and more like an announcement minister whose word counts for nothing. This is bad for the Bundeswehr and our security.”