On Friday, the German Bundestag approved an amendment to the country’s constitution. This in turn opens the way for a historic German military investment of 100 billion euros (just over one trillion Swedish kronor) to be implemented.
As early as Sunday evening, the German government and the opposition agreed to provide funds for building up the country’s military.
The agreement meant that the budgetary rules of the German constitution for the military – which are there for historical reasons – had to be revised, which has now happened.
The military will now receive an additional € 100 billion for rearmament and modernization. A large part is important for the air force, with planned purchases of transport helicopters and combat aircraft, Tagesschau reports.
When the parties agreed on Sunday, the ruling Social Democrats, SPD, had been negotiating with the conservative Christian Democrats, CDU, for several weeks.
The Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a reinforcement already three days after Russia began the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February. But later he has been accused of being too restrained in his support for the Ukrainian forces.
Scholz, however, needed to bring the opposition with him, as the money for the investment was to be borrowed and a large majority was required to circumvent a constitutional debt ceiling.