“Press the tube”
The Greens and FDP want to produce more weapons in Europe
February 11, 2024, 10:55 a.m
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Politicians from the FDP and Greens are worried. In view of “the brutal reality and the increasing threat,” it is necessary to ramp up weapons production in Europe. They see this as the first priority for Europe’s security.
The Greens and the FDP have welcomed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s call to produce more weapons in Europe. The Green Party’s defense policy spokeswoman, Sara Nanni, told the “Tagesspiegel”: “It is urgently necessary to push the envelope in Europe. No matter how the elections in the USA turn out, we have to be able to ensure our security. That starts with the industrial base. Stoltenberg is right.”
The deputy Green party leader, Agnieszka Brugger, also agreed with Stoltenberg. “The realization is bitter, but unfortunately necessary given the brutal reality and the increasing threat,” she said. It’s about “better equipping our own forces for protection and also about ensuring Ukraine’s endurance and defense.” She warned that more European coordination was needed.
FDP defense politician Marcus Faber said that deterring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression is “only credible if we can produce weapons and ammunition quickly.” He added: “The ramp-up of the defense industry is the first priority of this year for our security.”
Stoltenberg: Need to expand industrial base
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had previously told “Welt am Sonntag” that the alliance had to prepare for a decades-long confrontation with Russia. “We need to restore and expand our industrial base more quickly so that we can increase deliveries to Ukraine and replenish our own stocks,” demanded Stoltenberg.
The chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the FDP, sharply criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his meeting with US President Joe Biden. “A meeting like this is never wrong. But unfortunately Olaf Scholz didn’t have anything more to offer than that,” she told the “Rheinische Post”. Scholz is still hiding behind the American president. But that is no longer enough, said the FDP politician. “The Chancellor must set out and develop European independence in security policy. A European security strategy must be the signal of the hour,” said Strack-Zimmermann.
She had previously suggested – together with politicians from the CDU, SPD and Greens – in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” that ammunition from American manufacturers could be paid for with European money if necessary. They also demanded that deliveries to third countries be stopped so that all missiles could be given to Ukraine. The background is the acute shortage of ammunition in Ukraine.