GERMANY - Germany has pledged to raise military spending in coming years, as Berlin seeks to reconcile a commitment to play a more assertive role in global security with a military that is in dire need of overhaul. The spending commitment made by Wolfgang Schäuble, finance minister, in an interview on Sunday follows a decline in German defence expenditure from 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product in 2013 to 1.1 per cent of economic output this year.
In a speech last week outlining security threats Ursula von der Leyen, defence minister, said: “To our east we see in Russia an actor who is eager to return to the power politics of yesteryear. Without unity and resolve among Europeans, we have no chance against this.” Germany’s response to the Ukraine crisis will include strengthening tank forces. The defence minister is restoring an inactive German tank battalion to service, reversing plans to reduce Germany’s contingent of Leopard 2 combat tanks.
Ms von der Leyen said the decision was being made “in light of the changed security environment since 2014”. The restored tank battalion will be based at Bergen in Lower Saxony and is intended to contribute to the flexibility and reaction speed of Nato forces.
While Germany has played an increasingly active military role in recent years, taking part in Nato-led missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the experience has done little to sway public scepticism. Polls conducted last year show about 60 per cent of Germans oppose military engagements abroad.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
Read online or contact email to request a copy
