German arms exports worth €10.9b

Permits issued by the German government for the export of arms and military equipment appear to be heading for a new record, according to figures recently made available to dpa.

The information is based on a response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by a lawmaker from the left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

A total of 4,163 export permits to the value of €10.9 billion had been issued up to October 15, the response from the Economy Ministry said. Two thirds of the value, or €7.2 billion, had been issued for military weapons, it said.

The total for the whole of last year came in just €1.3 billion higher at €12.2 billion – a record.

The information request came from Sevim Dagdelen, who sits in the Bundestag for the upstart BSW party. The party, which split from the far-left Die Linke (The Left) party in January, is led by Sahra Wagenknecht, who has characterized its political ideology as "left conservatism."

The rise can largely be attributed to exports to Ukraine, with €4.9 billion approved for Ukraine during the first half year, according to information released earlier by the ministry.

In its coalition talks at the end of 2021, the ruling centre-left coalition agreed to restrict arms exports and to introduce legislation to this end, but the February 2022 Russian full-scale invasion led to a radical policy shift.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz lifted a ban on the export of weapons to a war zone in a landmark speech on February 27 that year, and Germany exported more arms last year than ever before.

Dagdelen expressed sharp criticism of the continuing rise, saying the worn-out government was achieving nothing apart from acting as the extension of Germany's armaments industry.

Early elections have been pencilled in for February after Scholz's government collapsed this month.