The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl (SPD), has suggested replenishing the special fund for the Bundeswehr when it is used up.
A project like the successor to the Tornado jets cannot be financed well from the current budget because it is only related to one year, she told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. Therefore, the form of financing via the special fund is correct. “You could think about replenishing it when it’s used up to fund projects over the year – without restricting Parliament’s participation rights.”
On February 27, 2022, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) heralded a “turning point” against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In the course of this, a special fund of 100 billion euros was approved for the modernization of the Bundeswehr.
Högl reiterated that the defense budget must generally be provided with ten billion euros more per year. The special fund is intended for large, special projects. But the day-to-day operations of the Bundeswehr are also suffering from a lack of funds. “Ten billion euros more a year for the department – that’s a reasonable demand,” she said. This money will definitely be needed. “We must not lose sight of the NATO goal of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense.”
