At 1 p.m., Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) answered questions from MPs for the first time this year. Above all, the Union wants to hear answers to one question from the Chancellor: Why he is saying no to the delivery of Tauruscruise missiles to Ukraine. In the past few weeks, Scholz has explained several times why he does not want to deliver these to Kiev – but he has not yet commented on this in the Bundestag. Ukraine requested the missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers from Germany in May 2023. Scholz rejects this because he fears that it could drag Germany into the war.
With reference to his no to TaurusThe Chancellor says: “Prudence is not something that can be qualified as weakness, as some do – but prudence is what the citizens of this country are entitled to.” This includes not supplying weapons that can only be used sensibly if German soldiers are involved. “I think it is necessary that we ensure that there is no involvement of German soldiers when delivering weapons,” said Scholz. The Chancellor is repeating his previous position. Scholz also emphasizes what Germany has done so far to support Ukraine. The amount Germany has launched in terms of arms deliveries and military support amounts to a total of 28 billion euros. “This is more than anyone else in Europe has made possible.”
In the afternoon there will also be a current hour in the Bundestag at 2:55 p.m. on “Tauruswiretapping scandal”. This was requested by the AfD.