Germany should double its military aid to Ukraine next year from the current four to eight billion euros and, thanks to further allocations, keep the commitment made with NATO on the share of defense spending, according to the Bild newspaper’s own information collected from the Berlin Ministry of Defense on its website a political agreement within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s left-center coalition. Formal approval is expected “next week” from the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag, the website says. So far, 4 billion euros have been earmarked for 2024 almost exclusively for projects that have already been promised; the Ministry of Defense only has 120 million euros left for new aid. In the current budget negotiations, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called for an increase of 5 billion euros. In addition, the ministry will raise a further 2 billion euros in so-called “commitment authorizations” for long-term defense contracts. The additional billions will also affect Germany’s ratio between gross domestic product and defense spending, which NATO countries have committed to maintaining at least 2 percent: According to the ministry’s calculations, Germany’s ratio will rise to 2.1 percent next year, so If Berlin can do this, it will fulfill its promise again after “years”, writes Bild.
