Germany’s Scholz wants European allies to up defense spending

MUNICH — Germany is serious about boosting its defense spending in the long run and wants European allies to match its Ukraine aid, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday.

“One thing is crystal clear, we Europeans need to do much more for our security, now and in the future,” the German leader said on the second day of the Munich Security Conference. “Our readiness to do so is considerable.”

Scholz insisted the German government backed Ukraine and supported the creation of a credible deterrant against Russia.

He said Germany, often criticized in the past for not spending enough on defense, would meet NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on the military through “the 2020s, 2030s and beyond.”

Germany is, by far, Ukraine’s leading supporter in terms of military aid in Europe, according to data compiled by the Kiel Institute. Scholz said Germany will give Ukraine an additional €7 billion in military aid this year.

“I very much wish — and this is something that me and some of my colleagues are lobbying for here — that similar decisions will be taken in other capital cities,” Scholz said.

He did acknowledge the political difficulties of boosting defense spending at a time of economic constraints.

“I know this isn’t easy,” said Scholz. “There are critical voices here as well and Moscow is fanning the flames.”

However, the risk of not standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin is enormous, the chancellor said.

“Putin is sending ever more troops to the front, so we therefore have to ask ourselves — are we doing enough to signal to Putin we’re in it for the long haul?” he asked.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted a revolution in German military budgets, with Berlin increasing spending on its own underfunded military as well as sending money and weapons to Ukraine.

Scholz said some 80 percent of a special €100 billion fund for the German army had been committed.

Although Germany is the leading European country to aid Ukraine, it is still not sending Kyiv its Taurus cruise missiles — seen as adding crucial long-distance striking power to the Ukrainian military.

The issue was raised after his speech in Munich, but the chancellor called the question on whether his government would consider approving the missiles’ delivery in future as “strange.”