Defense Minister Pistorius has assured his US colleague of greater military commitment. Germany is in transition – and two percent for defense is just a start.
When it came to the topic of the debt brake, Boris Pistorius was at his wits’ end. The minister had to answer questions about German defense policy in a discussion in Washington yesterday. In English, no problem.
Until he wanted to explain how nonsensical he found the German debt brake. How can he spend more money on defense without taking on new debt or raising taxes? “This is like, I don’t know how to say it – egg-laying milk wool pig?” the minister tried.
But the “egg-laying milk wool pig,” as Pistorius called it, cannot be translated. And there is simply no understanding of the German debt brake in the US capital. The fact that the German minister is trying to increase spending and take on more responsibility is well noticed in Washington.
“One of the strongest and most reliable allies”
“Germany remains one of the USA’s strongest and most reliable allies. And I am proud to continue working together for security and peace,” assured Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, with whom Pistorius sat at the Pentagon. Austin believes Germany’s plans to build a permanent brigade in Lithuania is a historic commitment that will strengthen European security.
Austin particularly praised Germany’s commitment to Ukraine. On the one hand, because Germany has taken in the most refugees from Ukraine in Europe and because Germany is the largest donor after the USA.
The federal government has just decided “that we will deliver three HIMARS launchers to Ukraine in cooperation with the Americans.” They come from US stocks and are paid for by Germany, Pistorius announced in Washington. HIMARS is a rocket artillery system with a range of approximately 75 kilometers.
Support stop from Germany too?
Germany has become a different country, times have changed, the Defense Minister assured in his speech at Johns Hopkins University in Washington: “Germany is a steadfast ally, capable and ready to play its role in the alliance and world politics.”
Since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Germany has given up its reluctance to send weapons to war zones. Around seven billion euros in military aid have now been sent to Ukraine, said Pistorius, and he also made it clear to his interlocutor in the US capital that for him two percent for defense is only the lower limit and not the upper limit.
NATO members have long committed to spending two percent of their economic output on defense. Germany will achieve this goal for the first time this year. But Pistorius would like to increase the share even further.
Pistorius understands that US President Joe Biden is reconsidering his stance towards Israel. Biden had announced that he would stop his military support if Israel invaded Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Germany is also considering similar steps, Pistorius said on ZDF.
Katrin Brand, ARD Washington, tagesschau, May 10, 2024 5:12 a.m