Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Traffic light must explain delivery
GroKo closes arms deal shortly before the change of power
Shortly before the end, the grand coalition approved an arms export to Singapore and Egypt. Above all, the Greens are angry about this. On the one hand, they are critical of the deals, and on the other hand, the new Green Foreign Minister is not informed.
Shortly before leaving, the grand coalition approved arms exports, including to Egypt. This deal is not only highly controversial politically, it also has to be announced by the new federal government, reports “Spiegel”. However, she would probably not have allowed this.
A corresponding letter from the Federal Ministry of Economics is dated December 7th. One day before the new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was sworn in, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier, who was only active as a manager, informed the new Bundestag President Bärbel Bas about an approved arms export from Germany to Singapore and Egypt. The latter in particular can be described as tricky.
According to the report, Thyssenkrupp is delivering a submarine to Singapore and three frigates to Egypt. In addition, the government in Cairo is still receiving state-of-the-art air defense systems from the German company Diehl. There are said to be a total of 16 IRIS air defense systems. According to the manufacturer, the missiles are suitable for 360-degree all-round defense against aircraft, helicopters, drones and other missiles, reports the “Spiegel”.
Arms exports to Egypt are always tricky, however, regardless of which government is in office and dignity. On the one hand, the North African country belongs to the war coalition against the Houthi rebels in Yemen – although it no longer actively takes part in the fighting. On the other hand, Germany must keep an eye on Israel, especially when it comes to the delivery of ultra-modern weapons systems. Israel’s military and technological lead should not be jeopardized by German arms deliveries to neighboring countries, the report said. That could be undermined with the IRIS air defense system.
Heiko Maas did not inform the successor
The Greens in particular are outraged by this. Judging by Altmaier’s letter, the Federal Security Council met when the change of government was already clear. And just one day before the traffic light government took over, the outgoing Minister of Economic Affairs, Altmaier, informed the Bundestag about the arms delivery. In addition, and this is perhaps the worst shame, the new government must now declare this arms deal. “The federal government,” wrote Altmaier, “is happy to explain the decisions in the main committee or, after they have been constituted, in the responsible technical committee.” This no longer meant the grand coalition, but the traffic light.
Despite all the criticism of the former economics minister, the SPD is also in the focus of the Greens. For example, the new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was apparently not informed about the arms business by her predecessor Heiko Maas. The Greens also feel taken by surprise by their traffic light partner. The green security politician Agnieszka Brugger suspects political calculation behind the last-minute deal. “The Union and the SPD were obviously aware that such a decision in the traffic light and with us Greens would not have been possible,” the MP told the “Spiegel”. For the new federal government, on the other hand, Brugger proclaimed “a significantly stricter arms export policy that gives greater importance to human rights, peace and security”. She recalled the stipulation in the coalition agreement, which provides for a national arms control law.