In a Bundestag debate on the government’s new security strategy, politicians from several parties reaffirmed their call for a National Security Council.
“A national security strategy must integrate all national actors for the security of our country. A national security council would have been the right instrument for this,” said the foreign policy spokesman for the opposition CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Jürgen Hardt. “You missed this chance. But maybe you can make up for it and heal accordingly.”
After months of deliberations, the federal cabinet decided on a security strategy on Wednesday, in which for the first time all security-related issues, from the equipment of the Bundeswehr to the fight against climate change and civil protection, are linked. This is intended to better arm Germany against growing internal and external threats. State governments and opposition parties had criticized that they had not been sufficiently involved.
“One point (…) is actually missing”
“The strategy addresses the fundamental security needs of our country. It defines our security policy identity, our values as well as our national interests,” said FDP foreign policy expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, whose party governs with the SPD and the Greens. “One point, and I say that here for my group, is actually missing. And that is the establishment of a National Security Council.”
At the start of the debate, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) declared that the federal government was pursuing a policy of integrated security with the policy paper that encompassed all areas of life. “In this security strategy, we are also making it clear that values and interests are not contradictory, but that the commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the international order serves our security interests and our economic interests,” she said.
“National Security Council fallen victim to internal dispute”
The AfD politician Joachim Wundrak criticized that a major shortcoming of the old solution could not be eliminated by assigning leadership to the Federal Foreign Office. As in all other relevant countries, the national security strategy “must be an absolute top priority”. “Furthermore, we are of the opinion that a national security council attached to the Federal Chancellor must be constantly entrusted with the implementation of this strategy and its further developments. And a permanent parliamentary control body should also be set up for this security council,” demanded Wundrak, a former lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr. He complained that the National Security Council had fallen victim to internal coalition disputes.
