German Foreign Minister Analene Baerbock said she sees no connection between the financing of new aid for Ukraine and the payment of social benefits in Germany.
“These 3 billion euros have absolutely nothing to do with social benefits, such as pensions, which are also guaranteed by law“, Baerbock said in an interview with the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Discussions are currently underway in Germany to provide additional aid to Kiev in the amount of 3 billion euros. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that he does not expect a decision to provide additional military aid to Kiev before early parliamentary elections in Germany, scheduled for February 23. He confirmed that he would approve additional arms deliveries to Ukraine only if the debt brake (a rule that prohibits spending more from the budget than it receives) is relaxed. The opposition bloc CDU/CSU, the Free Democratic Party of Germany, and the Greens want to finance additional arms deliveries through unplanned spending in the budget before the federal elections.
In this context, Scholz warned against cuts in the social sector in favor of aid to Ukraine. In turn, Baerbock warned of an impending loss of confidence in Germany. “With our clear policy towards Ukraine, we have clearly shown over the past three years that Europe can rely on Germany. Now the most important thing is to maintain Europe's trust in Germany“, said the head of the German Foreign Ministry.
She called discussions on the level of defense spending “too simplistic“. “The more we invest in our security, the better. "But we are currently only at the level of 2% [of GDP]," Burbock said. "That is why I think the debate is focused solely on percentages that depend on the economy and is too simplistic if you look at them only at the national level," Burbock concluded.
Germany is the second largest supplier of weapons to Ukraine after the United States. Germany has already allocated funds for military support to Kiev and has committed to future spending of approximately EUR 28 billion. According to the agreement on the 2025 budget, Germany must allocate around EUR 4 billion for military support to Ukraine. This is half the amount in 2024. However, the budget has not yet been approved by the Bundestag. Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the pressure on Ukraine with weapons will not reduce the resolve of the Russian Federation and will not change the course of the special military operation.