While the Trump government continues to seek an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, Europeans, for the first time in decades, are focusing on their own military power.
Nowhere is this change as prominent as in Germany. Their armed forces, known as Bundeswehr, were victims of years of sub -investment – but this should change.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has decided that at levels not seen since the Cold War.
Germany has just approved a major renovation of its constitutional debt brake, unlocking billions of euros in financing.
A model shared with the CNN He suggested that in a period of 10 years, with Germany spending 3.5% of GDP, this could reach € 600 billion (approximately almost four trillion reais).
A CNN He spent the day with Bundeswehr in an unveiled place in Central Germany while five NATO allies participated in training exercises.
The simulation was an attack from a “foreign opponent” to another member of the alliance.
Speaking at the makeshift headquarters for the simulation, the German brigadeiro General Ralf Hammerstein commented to CNN“Germany is a capable nation in Europe and has to be a partner of other nations. We are a responsible partner in Europe and a great country. We have to take a step ahead and we will do it.”
The large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a seismic moment for the continent. The war had returned and the distension that existed since the fall of the Iron Curtain (Division of Europe in the Cold War between Western and Eastern) was over.
In Berlin, he began the known period in German as “Zeitenwende” – or “turning point.” In fact, it was the beginning of the effort to increase military spending once again.
Olaf Scholz commented that the country needed a new defense and security policy – and that Bundeswehr needed special attention.
He established a single fund of € 100 billion (approximately 620 billion reais) for “comprehensive investment” in the Armed Forces. For this, Scholz had to change the basic law – essentially the constitution of the country.
Although this fund has been well received, the implementation of politics has been weak, and the government’s internal disputes and conflicts eventually led Scholz to lose their job.
Now Merz is looking to boost the zeitenwende.
Sudha David-Wilp, senior researcher at German Marshall Fund of the United States, a reflection group, commented to CNN That “Merz and (his) coalition need to accelerate this … Now there is a lot of competition of great power and Hard Power is the currency of international politics.”
While the simulated attack unfolded in Berlin, Merz was outlining his new vision to the Armed Forces. “We believe in misleading security in our society for at least a decade, probably much more … This is now the change of paradigm in the defense policy that is in front of us.”
Since the middle of the Cold War era, Germany military spending as a percentage of GDP have dropped dramatically. With a peak of 4.9% in 1963, it fell to a historic low in 2005 of only 1.1%.
Only in 2024 Germany reached NATO limit of 2% of spending on defense – marking the first time in over 30 years.
Hammerstein recognizes that “every army of the world, in history and also in the future, will always claim not to have enough.” But he equates Germany’s current situation to a dependence on the “dividend of peace” of the 1990s that “it was a reduction for all the military in the world, especially in Europe.”
He thinks Germany is on the right track now. Last year, for the “first time, we were able to spend the 2% NATO GDP criteria, and we will also spend money, such as € 100 billion (approximately 620 billion reais) we did in 2022, and this will continue, and the new chancellor is absolutely dedicated to it.”
Merz may be committed to reinforcing his defense on a safer base, but a parliamentary commission report to the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, suggested that the work to be done was significant.
Last week, the report stressed that Bundeswehr did not achieve recruitment goals, had a aging combat force, with barracks and basic infrastructure missing. Addressing journalists at her release, she said, “Bundeswehr still has very little of everything.”
In 2018, Germany pledged to increase its permanent forces to 203,000 by 2025 – a goal that was later revised to 2031.
As the report states, “Bundeswehr once again failed to reach its original goal.” Högl said Bundeswehr’s current combat force is 181,174 people.
Asked how the number should be reached, Hammerstein, who joined as a recruit in 1992, suggested a compulsory military service period. Germany officially suspended recruitment in 2011.
“I was convinced by the law to join the army. So I think some kind of mandatory service has to be in effect to increase the numbers the way we want to see,” Hammerstein commented. “This will not happen overnight – but the increase we will see … starting this year.”
The Högl report also highlighted the age of the army, saying that men and women in service are “getting older and older.” The average age in 2019 was 32.4, but now it increased to 34.
Perhaps the most condemnatory section of the report came with an attached account. He said € 67 billion (approximately 415 billion reais) was needed for infrastructure projects and described barracks and properties such as “still in a disastrous state.”
For Hammerstein, however, it is not always money.
He insists that Germany has a solid platform to launch, saying, “It’s about quality and what I see here during training is that we have a good substance. We have really very motivated soldiers… and that keeps me very optimistic that the substance is good, and now we have to increase it.”
There is also a change in the national mindset towards Bundeswehr.
Although Germans are usually very aware of the image of their armed forces, mainly due to the country’s history, research suggests that many now have a more positive opinion.
A survey conducted by the German public broadcaster in March found that 66% of respondents believe it is right to increase defense spending and Bundeswehr, while 31% said spending should remain the same or be cut even more.
He also found that 59% of respondents agreed that Germany should significantly increase its debt to “deal with upcoming tasks, especially in defense and infrastructure.”
While Merz embarks on the turnaround of the German compressor roll, he is confident that he is placing Germany on the right track for a safer and more prosperous future.
“Germany is back,” he said a week ago in Berlin. “Germany is making a significant contribution to the defense of freedom and peace in Europe.”
