Germany calls Russia biggest threat in first-ever National Security Strategy
[1/6] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a document during a press conference on the day the cabinet presents the national security strategy at the House of 'Bundespressekonferenz' in Berlin, Germany June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
BERLIN, June 13 (Reuters) - Germany announced its first National Security Strategy on Wednesday, calling Russia the biggest threat to Europe and warning about growing rivalry with China as Beijing tries to use its economic might to achieve political goals.
The document provides an overview of Berlin's foreign policy, which has shifted towards prioritising security more over economic interests in the year-and-a-half since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"This is a major change being carried out by us in Germany in how we deal with security policy," moving away from military strategy alone and towards an integrated security concept, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the presentation of the document.
It also addressed threats from climate change to supply chain disruptions.
The plan also aims to ensure a more cohesive cross-ministry approach to security, although the government was unable to agree on the creation of a National Security Council due to disagreements within Scholz's three-way coalition over where it should be housed.
One of the few specific pledges made in the strategy however refers to military preparedness.
Days after Russia's invasion in February 2022, Scholz made a speech heralding a "turning of an era" or "Zeitenwende" in which he said Germany from now on would invest more than 2% of economic output on defence after years of resisting pleas from NATO allies to do so.
The NSS contains a slightly weaker pledge, for Germany to spend 2% of economic output, "as an average over a multi-year period", on defence, initially in part by using a special 100 billion euro fund created last year.
Germany aims to reach the 2% defence spending target from next year, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at the news conference with Scholz and other ministers.
This meant that budget consultations for the years through to 2029 would need to be worked out again and some projects would be postponed.
"Projects that result from our security considerations have priority," Lindner said.
Other measures in the NSS include reducing dependencies on other countries for commodities and incentivizing companies to hold strategic reserves after Germany's over-reliance on Russia for energy brought an energy crisis last year.
These measures are particularly relevant now to Germany, and Europe's reliance on China for critical minerals key to the transition to a carbon neutral economy.
China is increasingly threatening regional stability and international security as it seeks to exert its economic power to reach political goals and assert its regional hegemony, the document said, reflecting Germany's toughening stance on its top trade partner.
A more detailed China strategy should be ready soon, Scholz said.
Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke, Miranda Murray, Rachel More, Madeline Chambers; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Angus MacSwan
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Source: Reuters
