New chapter in defense
Scholz and Sunak sign an arms pact
April 24, 2024, 6:25 p.m
The traffic light’s restrictive stance on arms exports often caused anger in London. Everything has changed since the Russian attack on Ukraine. Prime Minister Sunak and Chancellor Scholz agree on a new step in German-British defense policy in Berlin.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have announced increased defense cooperation between their countries. “In practical terms, we are doing this with Great Britain on a whole range of projects” such as “a new artillery system and the Boxer wheeled tank”, the “European Sky Shield” initiative and the Eurofighter fighter jet, said Scholz at a press conference with Sunak Berlin. “We have agreed to deepen our direct defense cooperation, including in the area of operational and industrial cooperation, and to further advance our capabilities and the interoperability of our armed forces,” said a “joint agreement” between the two countries.
Sunak said in Berlin that the Federal Republic and Great Britain had “taken greater responsibility for our collective security and today we are going even further by opening a new chapter in the security relationship between our two nations.” Both countries are committed to “creating a new framework for our defense cooperation,” the prime minister continued.
Industrial cooperation will be expanded “by announcing a joint venture to procure the Boxer artillery system, which will provide our soldiers with a new, cutting-edge capability and secure hundreds of German and British jobs.” According to the joint agreement, the artillery system in question is the wheeled howitzer “RCH 155”, which Germany and Great Britain want to “acquire, evaluate and optimize” together.
German special role in arms exports
Scholz emphasized that Great Britain also wanted to participate in the “European Sky Shield” air defense system initiative launched by Germany. He was also optimistic that Great Britain would join the Franco-German-Spanish agreement on export controls. The background is Germany’s special role in arms exports. It was only after considerable hesitation that the federal government gave up its resistance to the British sale of the jointly produced Eurofighter to Saudi Arabia, which caused anger in London.
It was only after the Russian attack on Ukraine that the Greens and the SPD left in particular changed their position towards arms exports. The traffic light coalition agreement provided for a tightening of regulations, which would have endangered exports of jointly developed systems. Partner countries had therefore threatened not to start any more joint arms projects with Germany.
London and Berlin are important military and financial supporters of Ukraine in the war against Russia. Sunak arrived in the Federal Chancellery in the morning for talks with Scholz, where he was received with military honors. He had previously visited the Julius Leber barracks in the Berlin district of Wedding and talked to members of the Bundeswehr.