At the moment it is not clear whether it will be possible to replenish the ammunition with the previously announced budget increase, ministry spokesmen said. Salary increases are implemented by the package, which can make investing in ammunition more difficult.
The Finance Ministry is examining the Defense Ministry’s application, a spokesman said. “We are not talking about current affairs, but it is clear that the defense budget must continue to be increased to meet the needs of the military and respond to situations such as inflation and rising prices.”
Increase in 2024, decrease in 2023
Although Berlin relied mainly on the €100 billion promised for new military equipment, the regular defense budget will have decreased by around €300 million in 2023. In total, around €50 billion has been set aside for normal spending on defense, which is nowhere near the NATO standard of 2%, which is around 75 billion euros.
Even before Russia went to war in Ukraine, Germany lacked about 20 billion euros to meet NATO standards.