Bundeswehr retains special lockdown during budget freeze
Does the Bundeswehr have a special position in the government's budget debacle? Following misleading press releases, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense must first discuss this question.
The Federal Ministry of Defense has lifted a previously announced block on funds. "In joint final coordination with the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), we were able to clarify that the Bundeswehr Special Fund is exempt from the requirements of the budget freeze and that the commitment appropriations from the 2023 business plan of the special fund are not subject to a freeze," the ministry announced.
"The precautionary extension of the budget freeze to commitment appropriations from the special assets of the Bundeswehr was lifted by supplementary decree." This ensures that the financing of projects that are not exclusively covered by the Bundeswehr special fund is also guaranteed.
The ministry had previously clarified that the current budget freezes do not block expenditure from the Bundeswehr special fund. It is "incorrect" that the Federal Ministry of Finance is "stopping the Ministry of Defense's payments from the special fund" in response to the Constitutional Court's budget ruling, explained the defence ministry. Only projects launched via the special fund that were to continue to be financed via the regular defense budget from 2028 are affected. The newspaper "Augsburger Allgemeine" had reported on a payment freeze for the special fund.
The 100 billion euro special fund was created as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine via an amendment to the Basic Law. It is intended to make the Bundeswehr, which has been cut back over decades, fit again for national and alliance defense and help Germany achieve the NATO target of spending two percent of economic output on defense.
The German Armed Forces, specifically the Bundeswehr, have maintained a unique status during the government's budget quandary, leading to discussions between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense. According to Boris Pistorius, the German Defense Minister, the Bundeswehr Special Fund is exempt from the budget freeze, as confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Source: www.ntv.de
