The new German Chancellor promises to create the strongest army in Europe. “Our friends expect from us”
– The federal government will provide all the funds that the Bundeswehr needs to become the strongest conventional army in Europe – announced Merz. “This is completely justified in the case of the most populated and economically strongest country in Europe,” he added.
This statement appeared after Merz led to a historical phrase in German fiscal policy, including drastic alleviation of the constitutional limitation of the country's debt. This move will potentially allow you to launch hundreds of billions of euros for defensive purposes. These funds can also be used to finance military support for Ukraine.
According to Merz The purpose of strengthening the armed forces is to deter aggression. – Our goal is Germany and Europe, which together are so strong that we will never have to use our weapon – added the new chancellor.
“We are on the side of Ukrainians”
At the same time, Merz promised that Germany – the second in the United States, the largest military assistance supplier for Ukraine – They will continue to support Kyiv. “There can be no doubt about our position,” he said. “We are unconditionally on the Ukrainians' side,” he emphasized.
The head of the German government also said that Berlin is “very concerned about the growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow” and that he would be hard He pressed China to play their role in the dissolution of the war in Ukraine.
Since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany has drastically increased expenditure on the army, although their armed forces still urgently need investment after years of disarmament and savings after the end of the Cold War.
For Merz, keeping the promise to create the largest conventional army in Europe will not be easy. General Carsten Breuer, the highest military commander of Germany, said in April during the meeting of the German Council of Foreign Relations that Germany needs 100,000 Additional soldiers “as soon as possible”.
However, despite increased recruitment efforts, the number of soldiers stays at around 182,000, because many young people in Germany avoid military service.
