The Bundestag on Thursday approved a bill that would allow the government to send “heavy weapons” to Ukraine to defend itself in the war Russia started in February. There were 586 votes in favour, 100 against and seven abstentions.
In the approved document, according to the German media, there is information that sending and accelerating the delivery of weapons, along with the sanctions announced in recent months, is “the main and most effective” means of stopping the Russians.
The text was broadly accepted by both the parties in the progovernment coalition the Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP and the opposition, including the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). As a bank, they only voted against the Left Party (Linke) and the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD).
On a business trip to Japan, Scholz thanked the Bundestag for its support and reported that the government had “received a strong mandate” from the parliamentarians. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Germany to abandon decades of pacifist policies and take tough action against a country starting a war.
Picture: UOL Art.No
In addition to allowing arms shipments to a nation in open conflict, the Germans increased military spending to 2% of GDP.
The government is also looking at ways to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas and oil. This week Berlin reported that it had already managed to reduce supplies from abroad to 35% before the war it was over 40%.