Actually, at the beginning of December, the federal government was only in office in an executive role. According to current practice, far-reaching political decisions are actually no longer made these days. However, shortly before the end of the term of office, extremely important decisions were made in just one area: Shortly before the change of government, the grand coalition of the Union and the SPD allowed arms exports of almost five billion euros, even to critical regions. It approved more exports in just a few days than in the nine months of the previous year.
For Egypt alone, the Merkel government allowed deliveries of more than four billion euros between the end of November and the election of Chancellor on December 8, including warships and air defense systems from the arms companies Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Diehl Defense. So it became known over the weekend. Egypt has long been criticized for human rights violations and involvement in conflicts such as in Yemen.
In view of the publication of record exports, the new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is now pressing for stricter export rules. “As a coalition, we have made it clear that we are reviewing the arms export policy of recent years,” said the Green politician on Sunday. “That is why we are working on an arms export control law that makes it clearer which criteria are used to approve arms exports.” The new traffic light government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP had already spoken out in favor of a stricter arms export policy in its coalition agreement. There it is anchored that the previous directives are to be regulated in a law that restricts exports to countries outside the EU and NATO.
However, the new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as Vice Chancellor of the old government, was involved in the grand coalition’s raising arms exports to the new record value of 9.04 billion euros shortly before the handover. This sum comes from a response from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which became known over the weekend, to a request from Left Bundestag member Sevim Dağdelen. The exports were ultimately approved by the Federal Security Council. This is a secret cabinet committee meeting Merkel and seven ministers, including the former finance minister Olaf Scholz.
The Federal Foreign Office has long been fighting for more influence
The left also sees the new government coalition as responsible. The export figures show how inconsequential the SPD’s criticism of unscrupulous arms exports to dictatorships and authoritarian regimes ultimately remains, criticized Dağdelen. For the new traffic light government under Scholz, this is a heavy burden. The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter rejected the criticism. “The acting of the executive federal government happened within the valid legal framework”, he said. The criticism from the Greens and the left is nothing more than “crocodile tears”.
Baerbock’s advance is also an indication that the Federal Foreign Office wants to have a greater say in export permits in the future. Formally responsible so far is the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is led in the new government by Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (also Greens). The Federal Foreign Office has long been fighting for more influence in this area. Baerbock did not ask for it directly, but says that the export permits are “also a question of foreign policy, of human rights, of international relations”. She also announced that she would work for joint arms export control at European level.
Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck distanced himself from the export permits of the grand coalition through his parliamentary state secretary and party friend Sven Giegold. The new government provides for a restrictive approach to arms exports and will draft a new arms export control law.