Politico.eu reports new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced relatively dramatic changes in German defense spending.
Speaking at an emergency session of the German parliament to discuss the war, Scholz said that his government would set up a special €100 billion fund to swiftly upgrade its armed forces and that Germany will in future adhere to the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.
Describing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a turning point in the history of our Continent,” Scholz told lawmakers that “it is clear that we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country in order to protect our freedom and our democracy.”
We will from now on, year for year, invest more than 2 percent of our gross domestic product in our defense,” Scholz said. His remarks were met with loud applause by lawmakers.
Germany currently spends around 1.5 percent of GDP on defense and the current coalition government had previously been reluctant to commit to the 2 percent target, despite pleas from NATO allies.
Mental image of an ostrich, removing head from sand in shock, and going on offense. If Putin attacking Ukraine spurs laggard NATO members to fulfill their 2% of GDP defense spending pledge, some good will come from it.
Note to Putin: In English, we call this an “unintended consequence.” Perhaps you have a similar term in Russian?
