Commissioner for German army urges top-up for massive military fund

The German parliament's commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Högl, has suggested that a huge special fund set aside by Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the Bundeswehr should be topped back up when it is used up, reported dpa.

A project like creating a successor for the Tornado jets could not be properly financed through the current budget because it works on an annual basis, she told the Stuttgarter Zeitung daily on Tuesday.

A top-up would enable the financing to be available, "without limiting the participation rights of parliament," she said.

On February 27, 2022, Scholz described the Russian invasion of Ukraine which happened just days before as a "turning point" for German military policy.

He announced a special fund of €100 billion ($110 billion) dedicated to the modernization of the country's armed forces.

The fund is intended for large special projects, but ongoing operations of the Bundeswehr are also suffering from a lack of money, Högl said.

"Ten billion euros more a year for the department - that is an appropriate demand," she said.

"We must not lose sight of the NATO target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence."