More money, more missions: German defense minister unveils her plan for the Bundeswehr

COLOGNE, Germany — German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has unveiled a proposal to increase spending on the armed forces and establish an organization styled after the U.S. National Security Council that would execute a more assertive defense policy.

Her Thursday speech at the Bundeswehr University in Munich included a pledge to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2031. That objective came embedded in a call for the country to be more willing to use the military as an instrument of national power by protecting maritime shipping lanes in China’s environs, for example, or countering the spread of terrorism in the Sahel region alongside French troops.

Kramp-Karrenbauer’s speech, billed as a “foundational” address by the Defence Ministry, follows a series of recent skirmishes within the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel that critics say have exposed Germany’s inability to shape the resolution of global crises to its advantage.

Over the summer, Berlin punted on partaking in an international naval protection mission in the Strait of Hormuz when the demand was most pressing. More recently, a proposal by the defense minister for a United Nations-backed peacekeeping operation in northern Syria was so badly and publicly trashed inside the governing coalition by the Social Democrats that allied governments didn’t appear to know what to make of it.

The Munich audience of flag officers, academics and student service members needed little convincing of Kramp-Karrenbauer’s vision, but getting the rest of the government excited about a Germany that is engaged in worldwide security could be a hard sell. The country has no muscle memory when it comes to employing hard power as a routine foreign policy instrument, or going through the decision-making required for it.

A National Security Council-style organization would help bring a whole-of-government approach to urgent defense and security questions, argued Kramp-Karrenbauer. A similar organization exists already, called the Bundessicherheitsrat, though it’s known to the public mostly for its secrecy and as the approval authority for arms exports.

The defense minister stressed that the German parliament, the Bundestag, would remain in charge of determining when to send soldiers into harm’s way. But she argued that accelerated parliamentary consideration should be available when the question is on the table of whether to participate in missions led by the United Nations, NATO or together with “European partners.”

At the end of the day, Kramp-Karrenbauer argued, Germany should strive to establish an “ability to act" globally commensurate with the country’s status as a powerhouse in Europe.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——德国国防部长安妮格雷特·克兰普-卡伦鲍尔公布了一项提案，旨在增加对武装部队的支出，并建立一个效仿美国国家安全委员会的机构，以执行更积极的国防政策。

她在周四于慕尼黑联邦国防军大学发表的演讲中承诺，到2031年，德国将把国内生产总值的2%用于国防开支。这一目标还包含一项呼吁，即德国应更愿意将军队作为国家力量的工具，例如，保护中国周边的海上航道，或与法国军队一起打击萨赫勒地区的恐怖主义蔓延。

克兰普-卡伦鲍尔的演讲被国防部誉为“奠基性”演讲。此前，德国总理安格拉·默克尔的政府内部发生了一系列冲突，批评人士称这些冲突暴露了德国无力利用全球危机的解决方式来谋取自身利益。

今年夏天，在最迫切需要参与霍尔木兹海峡国际海军保护任务之际，柏林却推诿推诿。最近，国防部长提出的在叙利亚北部开展联合国支持的维和行动的提议，遭到执政联盟内部社会民主党的公开猛烈抨击，以至于盟国政府似乎都不知该如何应对。

在慕尼黑，克兰普-卡伦鲍尔的愿景几乎无需过多说服，便已在高级军官、学者和学生军官中得到认可。然而，要让政府其他部门对德国参与全球安全事务产生兴趣，恐怕就难上加难了。德国在运用硬实力作为常规外交政策工具，以及进行相关决策方面，都缺乏经验。

克兰普-卡伦鲍尔认为，设立一个类似国家安全委员会的机构，有助于政府以全政府视角应对紧迫的国防和安全问题。目前已经存在一个类似的机构，名为联邦安全委员会（Bundessicherheitsrat），但公众对其了解主要集中在它的保密性和作为武器出口审批机构的角色上。

国防部长强调，德国联邦议院（联邦议院）仍将负责决定何时派遣士兵前往危险地区。但她认为，当需要考虑是否参与由联合国、北约或与“欧洲伙伴”共同领导的军事行动时，应允许加快议会审议程序。

克兰普-卡伦鲍尔认为，归根结底，德国应该努力建立与其作为欧洲强国地位相称的全球“行动能力”。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。