Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht answered questions from MPs in the Bundestag on Wednesday. After that, Chancellor Olaf Scholz verbally received Tinder from Friedrich Merz after his government statement. His coalition parties, however, criticized back. The Bundestag in the ticker protocol.
4:24 p.m .: “Leading power, that’s really old great power ambition,” Bartsch complains against a demand from SPD leader Klingbeil. “Leadership can also be done differently.” With that, Bartsch ends his speech. We get out of the live ticker at this point.
4:22 p.m .: Bartsch rejects that everyone who voted against the special fund was wrong. “It’s not always the right people who want to move forward militarily.” He finds the oil embargo against Russia hypocritical. “India cheaply buys oil from Russia, refines it and sells it to Europe. That’s nonsense.”
4:20 p.m .: “One thing is clear: Russia must end the war,” says Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the Left Party. Nevertheless, he is currently against Ukraine’s EU accession. while rockets are being fired at the country? There must be no hasty accessions.”
4:18 p.m .: “I found what the Chancellor said was important: a partnership with Russia is unimaginable in the foreseeable future. Now it’s time to cooperate with the liberal democracies of the world, thank you.”
4:17 p.m .: “We are facing a big problem, but one thing is a fact: An energy gap for Germany is not an alternative.” Then he attacks Merz and says that he and the Union are only back to stability after 16 years. “Your budget plans speak volumes.” Dürr complains that there were only expenses and hardly any income.
4:15 p.m .: “We have learned that dependence on individual partners is dangerous,” says Dürr. “The phrases of the past, change through trade, no longer apply, this concept has failed in relation to Russia.” But he emphasizes that “Now the time has come to focus on free trade with the liberal democracies of this world”.
4:12 p.m .: “It has been said many times that Putin is afraid of democracy – Ukraine defends these values and must be supported in doing so.” Dürr then draws attention to the fate of a young Ukrainian who demonstrated on the Maidan in 2014 and was recently at war in of Ukraine died after joining the Ukrainian army in February.”His example shows us the values that we must always remember. It shows exactly that: The Ukrainian people want to walk this path and even give their lives for it to defend the freedom of their country.”
4.10 p.m .: Now Christian Dürr, FDP parliamentary group leader, speaks. “The people of Ukraine want to go the European way. You, Mr. Chrupalla, spoke of forced EU community – the people of Ukraine want to join the EU because their friend Vladimir Putin is attacking them. What nonsense what they are talking about.”
4:08 p.m .: “With the accession candidate status, they give the citizens of Ukraine hope that they can never fulfil.” He calls the EU a “huge money distribution machine” and rumbles against Scholz’ “landlord type” with which he would travel through the Balkan countries. You have damaged the office of Federal Chancellor.” Scholz’s attempt to reach an understanding with Russia “I deeply share. That’s why they are verbally disarming and are looking for a way to cooperate with Russia.”
4:07 p.m .: “Try finally to be open and honest with the citizens and to pursue interest-based politics for our country,” the AfD boss continues to rage. He also complains about the “disarmament of the Bundeswehr” because weapons are in the Ukraine delivers.” Apparently he hadn’t listened to Christine Lambrecht’s questioning.
4:05 p.m .: “You on the government bench are steering us haphazardly into the biggest crisis since the Second World War,” complains Chrupalla “Instead, they’re buying from Qatar what they recently condemned for its human rights abuses. That’s a double standard.”
4:03 p.m .: Now Tino Chrupalla, parliamentary group leader of the AfD, speaks. He attacks Dröge for not responding to utopian climate plans that “are not feasible and far too expensive”. He promotes an “energy mix for the next 30 years. We don’t even have the storage capacity.”
4:02 p.m .: “It is the poorest countries that are carrying the burden of the world right now. I ask you, Chancellor: Make this G7 summit the summit of the climate future and fight for the poor countries.”
4:00 p.m.: “We have inflation that is due to fossil fuels, not monetary policy or government debt. Under no circumstances should we counter this with a rollback to nuclear energy, the most expensive form of energy,” says Dröge, and almost has to scream because she is so angry. Putin is using this crisis to scare the world, she emphasizes.
3:58 p.m .: Then she attacks the Union and the previous government. “They made mistakes in the past and didn’t expand renewable energies enough. Now make sure we do this now. Reducing gas consumption is the only solution at the moment – we have to solve the Ukraine and climate crises at the same time.”
3:56 p.m .: “Yes, we would have wished for everything to go faster,” admits Dröge and also refers to restrictions and training times. “But it is good that we have now managed to deliver the first heavy weapons.” Then she addresses Russia. “Russia uses fossil gas as a weapon against us and tries to weaken us.” Then she criticizes the climate destroy.”
3:53 p.m .: Now Katharina Dröge, leader of the Greens, speaks. She agrees with Merz when it comes to the Ukraine crisis, but complains that there is a “huge gap” on the subject of the climate crisis, “again and again”. Then she also turns to the Ukraine crisis. “It is our job to do everything we can to support the Ukraine crisis.” She was pleased that a cross-party parliamentary group in the Bundestag had succeeded in adopting a program to support Ukraine.
3:51 p.m .: While he praised Scholz for inviting some countries to the G7 summit (“It was strategically smart to invite India”), he is angry because the SPD “for the fifth time” prevented the ratification of the free trade agreement with Canada. “Then why aren’t you able to say to your coalition: We’ll pass this free trade agreement with Canada before such a big summit, where the Canadians are there,” asks Merz and earns thunderous applause from his group. Finally, he shoots at Scholz: “You obviously can’t bring your coalition to reason.” That ends his speech.
3:50 p.m .: “We’ll remember the heckling,” says Merz, after an SPD man yelled that “stability was from the day before yesterday”. “We’ll come back to that, you can rely on that.”
3:48 p.m .: Merz also attacks the European Central Bank for making some proposals regarding the fragmentation of the euro zone. “The only task of the ECB is to ensure the stability of the euro zone.” Merz is also bothered by the fact that Scholz did not mention the anniversary of the stability pact (25 years) in a single word. “They missed that chance.”
3:46 p.m .: “Until full membership of Ukraine and also of states like Georgia and Moldova, Europe must find ways to introduce them to the European Union,” demands Merz ” will.
3:44 p.m .: He was surprised that “your most important advisor in foreign policy is now speaking about the relationship with Russia,” says Merz in the direction of Scholz. He quotes the adviser and says, “that’s exactly what irritates other European countries and we’re wasting our most important asset: trust in the German chancellor.” Then he counters an interjection: You’ve also made more important interjections before SPD: “Where is your chairman? He makes clever suggestions and then he’s not there, half the parliamentary group isn’t there. What is actually going on in your party, Chancellor?”
3:42 p.m .: He is glad that the delivery of weapons, as discussed in the Bundestag in April, “is finally getting underway. There must have been a change of heart in your government. We welcome that, but it could have been earlier.”
3.40 p.m .: Now Friedrich Merz, parliamentary group leader of the Union parties CDU and CSU, speaks. “We voted out of conviction in the redesign of German security policy. I think it’s good that you’ve finally been to Kyiv and visited there with other presidents. That was an important sign of European solidarity.”
3:39 p.m .: “There are great expectations of our country. We want to fulfill them, the efforts of the next few days will be directed in this direction – thank you very much.” Long applause for the Chancellor.
3:37 p.m .: He wants to talk to the nations about preventing future pandemics and climate protection, among other things, “so that this becomes a competitive advantage”. Then he swings. “We are investing in our security, making our energy independent of Russia and attacking climate protection – now more than ever.”
3:35 p.m .: Scholz emphasizes that he is working to ensure that grain is transported out of Ukraine and that it does not rot in storage. “The UN is warning of the next famine while countries in the Global South are still struggling with the effects of the corona pandemic.” To talk about it, he invited the current leading nations from different continents to talk about these problems, including Senegal , Argentina, India and South Africa.
3:32 p.m .: “I very much hope that everyone will now jump over their shadow for the big picture. The EU must finally start accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania,” Scholz demands, recalling that North Macedonia even changed its name to avoid a dispute with Greece. “I also hope that Bulgaria will go down a path that makes it possible power to work together in peace with its western neighbors.”
3.30 p.m .: “The EU must also reform its processes. That’s why I advocate making more decisions by qualified majority. The EU must be more modern,” demands the Chancellor. Currently, the consent of all countries is almost always necessary. This also applies to the possible admission of Balkan countries to the EU. “Twenty years ago, they were promised possible admission, that’s what everyone thought “In five to eight years they’ll all be members’ – that didn’t come true. Now it’s important: we need the Western Balkans in the European Union.”
3:28 p.m .: “I will advertise 27 times,” promises Scholz in relation to Ukraine’s EU accession candidate status and that of Moldova. “The Ukrainians also know that things like corruption have to change. But they want it walk the path of hope. We will support Ukraine in this.”
3:26 p.m .: “In all of this we need staying power. The reconstruction of Ukraine will be a task for generations.” The pictures reminded him of the devastated Germany after the Second World War, says Scholz. Like Germany then, Ukraine needs “a Marshall Plan. We have to coordinate internationally what this can look like campaign to convene an international commission of experts, closely coordinated with international partners.”
3:24 p.m .: Also for reasons of transparency, the federal government decided to publish the list of arms deliveries. “Irpin and Bucha are places of horror, but also of hope – because they give hope that it is possible to push Russia back.” Then Scholz emphasized what Lambrecht had already confirmed. “Ukraine, and only Ukraine, decides when and under what conditions to negotiate with Russia.”
3:22 p.m .: “It is our duty to support Ukraine for as long as Ukraine needs us,” affirms Scholz, and then reports on further measures, such as the training of Ukrainian soldiers, talks about another ring exchange and the first delivery of self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
3:21 p.m .: “I will not forget them, the fresh graves, the destroyed apartment blocks of Irpin,” the Chancellor recalled his visit to Ukraine. “Russia is waging a war against innocent women and children. It is barbaric. It is our duty to support Ukraine in the best possible way.” There is a long round of applause for this.
3:19 p.m .: “I am convinced that the NATO summit will send a signal of strength. A partnership with Russia, as was envisaged in 2010, is unimaginable with Putin’s aggression in the long term,” says the Chancellor and receives applause. But the talks with Putin should not end Right based, remember.” He was sure that Finland and Sweden would soon be among them.
3:18 p.m .: “In these difficult times, Germany is taking responsibility for ourselves and our allies,” says Scholz and also promises to expand the presence of forces in the Baltic Sea region. Ukraine also wants to support them in securing their airspace square meters of our alliance territory.”
3:16 p.m .: It went a little faster, Scholz is now getting started and first thanks everyone who made the special fund possible. “Security is the most fundamental promise that a state owes its people. We have renewed this.”
2:57 p.m .: Olaf Scholz will soon start with his government statement. According to the Bundestag’s plan on their website, it should start at 3:20 p.m.
2:20 p.m .: An FDP man, Alexander Müller, asks what she wants to do when the special fund is used up. “The law clearly states that we must be able to meet the NATO targets afterwards. Since many have agreed, I assume that everyone will stick to it. ”Müller says that he asked for a timetable. “It’s about a date that I won’t have any influence on alone. I am also dependent on what the industry will achieve. But they saw what we are capable of when we stand on our back feet – we want to continue in this style.
2:16 p.m .: Now it’s Paul Ziemiak’s turn and it gets loud. He accuses Lambrecht of making a “cheeky and unqualified statement. Do they really want to use Ukraine to maintain their ambiguous stance by saying they don’t want to tell them anything?” Lambrecht is equally angry. “It’s quibbles what they’re doing,” she says, dismissing Ziemiak’s statement. “But the question remains: Ukraine wants to win the war against Putin. Do you want Ukraine to win the war? You can answer that with yes or no.” Lambrecht wriggles around the decision again. “You have to leave it up to me which word I choose, I’m very capable of that. Ukraine can count on our support.”
2:14 p.m .: Bas announces that the question and answer session will soon come to an end. One member of parliament wants to know how many planes the Bundeswehr is using to fly the wounded out of Ukraine. “We will ensure that this is possible without any gaps – even without endangering our alliance and national tasks.” An exact number of aircraft will be submitted later.
2:13 p.m .: Another request relates to Lithuania, where, according to the CDU man, the first sanctions are already having an effect. “It is important that everyone can count on us to act together and that we are there. Putin probably didn’t expect that, but that’s exactly our strength.”
2:11 p.m .: Another CDU man refers to an announcement by SPD leader Klingbeil, who said that “Germany must have the right to be a leading power”. “How are they going to do that? Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” Lambrecht answers clearly. “We will support Ukraine, but we will not give it any instructions. We help, we do what we can, we coordinate with our allies – that’s our idea of leadership and that’s exactly how we handle it.”
2:08 p.m .: CDU man Johann Wadephul brings the topic back to Ukraine. “How long will the federal government support Ukraine and how far?” Lambrecht said that there are “very clear statements from the Federal Chancellor to support Ukraine even in a prolonged war when it comes to the territorial sovereignty of the state. Ukraine will decide when it is ready to enter into negotiations. I won’t tell them, I don’t presume. That is why Ukraine must decide this for itself.”
2:05 p.m .: “The soldiers are highly professional, but I don’t see the strategy. How does the Bundeswehr want to achieve success in Mali?” asks an AfD man. She doesn’t see the successes she wants either. “But we have to ask ourselves what will happen if all nations withdraw from the Sahel “Then what do the terrorists do? But we are part of a UN mission. But they are right: we are currently witnessing a return of terrorism. The question is: what happens if we pull out? That’s why we are interested in sticking with it. “
2:02 p.m .: Bärbel Bas took over and moderated a request from the CDU/CSU faction for the Mali mission and the Minsuma program. “Minusma is a United Nations action,” she says. “We expect that the mandate will be taken over by those who developed it.” She will speak to her French counterpart next week about whether the withdrawal of French helicopters in August will go ahead as planned. Whether there is a plan to act if France pulls through. “We think about it,” says Lambrecht succinctly.
2 p.m.: Now it’s getting wild. The left man wants to ask again, but asks the same question again. When Lambrecht angrily replies, Kubicki intervenes. “I know it’s unusual for me to assert myself here, but now I have to. The MP asked the same question three times and they explained that – if he doesn’t like the answer, that’s his problem.” Boom, next question!
1:56 p.m .: Then she says something about the sums. “20 billion euros will be invested in wage increases and maintenance, 20 billion euros for the locations. Then there are only 10 left to invest – that’s why we need the special fund.” The man on the left repeats his question: “What exactly do you want to do with the special fund?” “Soldiers should be equipped with helmets and protective vests much earlier and the Procurement Acceleration Act should be passed soon – preferably before the summer break.” Then Lambrecht revived. “If we put eight years into the development of backpacks, then I don’t understand it.”
1:54 p.m .: Now the left-wing MP Ali Al-Dailami is asking about the special fund. “The military budget has increased by 55 percent since 2014 and our soldiers still had guns that didn’t shoot straight. What do you want to do with the special fund – after all, it’s used to improve the equipment of the Bundeswehr.” Lambrecht swallows, that’s a lot of questions at once. “You also have to look at the time before 2014, when the budget was reduced significantly.” The increase was not enough to absorb the problems.
1:50 p.m .: When asked about a heavy transport helicopter, Lambrecht is a bit irritated. She cannot understand the numbers that the CDU MP gave. “The important thing is: It’s available.” When asked whether it could do what it should and whether it would be significantly more expensive than planned, Lambrecht said that the helicopter could do what it had to. “If all countries are now asking more, we have to stand on our hind legs to buy. We have to see that there is no price explosion – but demand is currently increasing significantly.”
1:48 p.m .: In response to a question from the Greens group about bureaucracy, Lambrecht explains that the processes would continue to be streamlined in order to be based on “market availability”. “What we have already achieved are milestones,” says the minister proudly. The Procurement Acceleration Act, which she worked out with Habeck, would also help.
1:46 p.m .: When asked by AfD man Lucassen, Lambrecht confirmed that one of their goals was to ensure “that the deliveries do not escalate further. Delivering arms to a war zone was not an easy decision. If you ask me, Ukraine isn’t hoarding weapons either, but has enough to do defending itself against the aggressor Russia.” She receives applause from the crowd for this.
1:43 p.m .: “Before every decision as to whether we will give something up, we consider whether this is necessary for national and alliance defense or for training,” says Lambrecht when asked by the non-attached Johannes Huber. “So there is no gap.” The inquiries, for example from NATO, are currently increasing. Huber asks whether there are any plans to retrofit the weapons supplied in Germany. “No, you didn’t understand me correctly. We will of course retrofit, but again, there has been no gap.”
1:41 p.m .: The green man does not give up. He asks for rescue workers and paramedics in case of defense. “Strengthening the paramedics within the Bundeswehr is important, I take care of that. However, working with civilian forces such as civilian rescue workers is not my area of responsibility.”
1:38 p.m .: Lucassen asks if Ukraine is planning to attack Russian territory. “We didn’t have to demand that from Ukraine at all, they explicitly stated that themselves. We have the certainty that Ukraine will only use the weapons for defense.” A Green MEP asks how Lambrecht wants to ensure that there is no conflict over the use of weapons between military and civilian forces. “The defense of the country and the alliance is the core task of the Bundeswehr and not of civilian forces, that’s what I stand for as Federal Minister of Defence.”
1:36 p.m .: AfD MP Rüdiger Lucassen asks about deliveries from federal government stocks. “We need weapons for training and other purposes. If something becomes free, I can make the decision what to do with it. But I always have to keep an eye on what we need for national defense and what for the defense of the alliance. At the moment I don’t see much room for manoeuvre.”
1:34 p.m .: A CDU man asks about the use of the cheetah in Ukraine and names possible problems. How should this be dealt with, he asks. “It’s not my place to question Ukraine’s decisions on how to use the cheetahs. If the colleague wants it and we can deliver it, then we will do it.” A strong statement.
1:32 p.m .: An AfD man asks about the ammunition and what happens when it runs out. “Are we going to just let the tanks roll towards the Ukrainians or what?” Lambrecht reports that she even asked her Ukrainian colleague whether he even wanted the cheetah under these conditions – he said yes. When asked, she gives another digression, “What to do with the cheetah. If you don’t set it to continuous fire, then the ammunition will be gone after three days and the barrel will be broken. The task is to defend and shoot at individual objects.”
1:30 p.m.: “The cheetah is an anti-aircraft gun tank, the Marder is an infantry fighting vehicle, your inspector general knows that,” says one MP. Then he asks about the training on the tanks. “The cheetah is from industry, we didn’t have it anymore in our stocks,” says Lambrecht. Her department is taking over the training of the Ukrainian forces on the cheetah.
1:28 p.m .: Then a left-wing MP asks about the difference between levy and export. “What distinguishes the tax to Ukraine from exports in recent years?” “That’s not a distinction that I had in mind,” says Lambrecht. “If the industry makes an application to deliver something, it is an export. A levy is the levy from our holdings, it is a levy.”
1:26 p.m .: Lambrecht uses the next question about nuclear deterrence to dig at the predecessors who came from the Union. “That was one of the first decisions I made. That’s why we ordered the F35, my predecessors didn’t do that for a long time.” This serves as a replacement for the “tornado that no longer flies”.
1:23 p.m.: A deputy asks what the difference is between martens and tanks, why one is a tank and the other is not. “That is a military assessment by our advisors,” says Lambrecht. But she doesn’t seem to know for sure. Lambrecht answered another question about the Security Council meeting and whether it had taken place, slightly annoyed. “Meetings do not always have to be attended, but also in circulation,” she says.
1:20 p.m .: After Kubicki warns the minister to answer a little tighter, Schwartze asks how MARS is trained. “It starts next week,” says Lambrecht. Then follows a request from the CDU parliamentary group. Why it was decided to no longer make decisions in the Security Council but at management level and why the Defense Committee and the parliamentarians were not informed. “Do you only want to announce that on the website?” “The self-propelled howitzer is not an arms export, but a tax, so it wasn’t necessary to decide that in the Security Council,” says Lambrecht. Otherwise you will be informed as usual.
1:17 p.m .: The next question from SPD man Stefan Schwartze revolves around training on the tank howitzers that Germany has now delivered. “It’s a computerized weapon,” says Lambrecht. “The training includes, among other things, the language, because that was in German and is now in Ukrainian, but also working in a group. It was therefore right that we insisted that the Ukrainian soldiers be trained. There was the clever tip ‘Make a hotline or a YouTube video’ – that’s cynical. These soldiers must be able to use the weapon, for their protection and for the protection of others.”
1:14 p.m .: Jürgen Hardt from the CDU denies the last statement. “As far as I know, the cheetah’s barrel is thicker than the marten’s,” he begins, then asks a question about the ring exchange. “Can you explain that in more detail?” Lambrecht refers to your statement at the beginning and then says that there are currently negotiations with Poland and Slovakia, among others. However, she does not want to make these negotiations public. “So far we’ve only exchanged rings successfully with Slovakia?” Hardt asks. Lambrecht answers in detail, but in principle yes. “No country is willing to give up first – that’s why we’re negotiating.”
1:12 p.m .: The first question comes from Florian Hahn from the CSU. Whether there are applications for the supply of Marder tanks and Leopard tanks. “That’s now public, yes, they are available,” says Lambrecht. “But Germany will not go it alone here, we always have to act in coordination with our allies.” That was also decided in the cabinet. Hahn asks what the difference is between martens and cheetahs. “The cheetah is not a tank, there have been no deliveries of western-style tanks to date,” says the minister.
1:10 p.m .: “I would like to thank you very much on behalf of the Bundeswehr for the decision of the special fund,” says Lambrecht. In addition, she worked with her colleague Habeck on a procedure to speed up procedures. “It is necessary that we not only have the money available, but also use it efficiently and quickly.” That ends her speech, now the questions follow.
1:08 p.m .: Training on the MARS system will begin in June, and cheetahs and tanks will also be delivered soon. Industry is helping, according to Lambrecht. “We have pretty much reached the limit of what is still justifiable if I, as Minister of Defense, want to guarantee the defense of the alliance.” That is why you also go the way of exchanging rings.
1:06 p.m .: “In the future you can see on two lists at the Federal Press Office which weapons deliveries are planned and which have already arrived,” she continues. However, no dates or transport routes would be published. That was not the case before “because you were afraid that the enemy is listening in. Ukraine has given up on this path.”
1.05 p.m .: Now Christine Lambrecht speaks. “As in the last few months, we are also dealing with the question of how we can support Ukraine, also from my department,” begins the defense minister. The seven self-propelled howitzers have meanwhile arrived in the Ukraine and are being used for fighting.
1:00 p.m .: Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki from the FDP opened the meeting on time. First of all, however, there are some personnel changes in some committees. Only then will it be Christine Lambrecht’s turn.
On Wednesday, June 22, things will get exciting in the Bundestag. Right at the beginning of the session at 1 p.m., Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht read out a short statement and then answered questions from the MPs.
Presumably, she will have to answer questions about the war in Ukraine and German efforts in this context. Above all, the German arms deliveries and their volume have been an issue that has divided Germany and the Bundestag in recent weeks.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak from 3 p.m. His government statement will focus primarily on the three forthcoming summits of the European Union (EU), NATO and the G7 countries. FOCUS Online accompanies the Bundestag on Wednesday in the live ticker.
According to a media report, after the cutback in gas supplies to Germany, the federal government wants to announce the second stage of the gas emergency plan.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has now declared that Germany will not agree to a ban on internal combustion engines. A few hours earlier, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) said the opposite. The focus of the dispute is the use of synthetic substances, so-called e-fuels.
Before the meeting of health ministers on Wednesday and Thursday, four countries are calling for a concrete corona roadmap for autumn and winter, including the obligation to wear masks, contact restrictions and compulsory testing. Health Minister Lauterbach has also drawn up a seven-point plan.
