Record demand for German armaments
The Russian war of aggression is driving German exports of weapons of war and armaments to a new all-time high. Alongside Ukraine, another European country is the second largest recipient.
With arms export licenses worth around 12.2 billion euros, the German government set a new record in 2023. This is according to a statement from the Federal Ministry of Economics. The main recipient country is Ukraine with 4.44 billion euros. 6.44 billion of the approvals were for war weapons and 5.76 billion euros for other military equipment - this category includes armored vehicles, for example.
The previous high of 9.35 billion euros was achieved in 2021, the new record is 30 percent higher. "The continuous German support for Ukraine in its self-defense against the Russian war of aggression, which violates international law, serves to secure the global peace order," explained State Secretary Sven Giegold from the Green Party. The new record level had already become known in December, but at that time it was based on provisional figures that did not yet include the second half of December.
Arms exports with second-highest value go to Norway
Norway accounted for the second-highest number of licenses. This shows that the German government is sticking to its restrictive basic policy, according to which the issue of human rights is of particular importance. "The record demand for German military equipment from our democratic partner countries is an expression of an increased need for military security, for which Russia's aggression bears the overwhelming responsibility."
Around 89 percent of the approved export value, or 10.84 billion euros, relates to EU and NATO states or countries that are equivalent to NATO members - this group includes Japan, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand - as well as South Korea, Singapore and Ukraine.
At the urging of the SPD and the Greens, the coalition government had actually intended to curb arms exports and introduce a control law to this end. Then came the U-turn in arms policy with the war in Ukraine. The self-imposed ban on arms deliveries to an ongoing war was overturned by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his "Zeitenwende" speech on February 27, 2022 - a breach of taboo.
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Despite Russia's aggression, another European country, apart from Ukraine, also significantly benefits from Germany's increased arms exports. In fact, Germany is the second-largest arms exporter to this country, which adheres to a strict human rights policy.
Germany's defense industry also continues to supply significant military equipment to Norway, with around 89% of its total approved export value going to EU, NATO, and equivalent nations.
Source: www.ntv.de
