Germany is discussing the allocation of 200 billion euros for defense. Ukraine may get some of it
25 February 14:31
The future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has started talks with the Social Democratic Party on the rapid approval of emergency defense spending of up to 200 billion euros. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with these discussions, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
Representatives of the Christian Democratic Union of Merz and the SPD are discussing ways to circumvent Germany’s strict restrictions on public borrowing to free up resources for the needs of the neglected German army. According to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous, a vote on the new aid package is being considered through the outgoing parliament. The amount of the new package is twice the amount of funds approved three years ago.
Merz has repeatedly promised to increase investment in the German army to counter Russian aggression, but his plans have faced obstacles after fringe parties gained a blocking minority in the new parliament. The mainstream parties do not have the two-thirds of seats needed to ease constitutional restrictions on government borrowing. However, they could get around this by holding a vote before the first session of the new legislature on March 24.
The winner of Sunday’s election is under pressure to act quickly on defense as the rest of the European Union tries to respond to Donald Trump’ s determination to force a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine.
Trump has already spoken with Putin and is close to reaching a deal with Kyiv on natural resources. Representatives of his administration have said that he wants European countries to take responsibility for guaranteeing Ukraine’s future security.
One of the ideas being discussed in Germany is the creation of a special fund for new military spending and aid to Ukraine. Other options include expanding the existing €100 billion fund or adapting the so-called “debt brake” to allow for additional defense spending. Either of these options would require a two-thirds supermajority of lawmakers, which will be much harder to secure once the new parliament starts working.
“Right now there is a blocking minority on the far left and far right,”
– Merz told reporters on Monday.
Merz and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil plan to hold a phone call on Tuesday to discuss support for Ukraine and defense spending. Both hope to clarify the situation as much as possible in the coming days. Preliminary coalition talks are due to begin March 6 after regional elections in Hamburg on Sunday.
Merz said on Sunday that he aims to conclude a coalition pact with the SPD before Easter, while Trump told US officials that he wants to reach a peace agreement on Ukraine by that deadline as well.
Security of Ukraine and Europe
The Munich Security Conference 2025 came as a real shock to many and a cold shower to European politicians after US representatives voiced their vision of the future security model in Europe and the world. In particular, US Vice President Jay DeVance ‘s speech was about Europe no longer relying on the US security umbrella, as the US will no longer guarantee it. The Europeans were also told that the security of Ukraine after the ceasefire with Russia will also be on their shoulders, as it concerns European affairs, from which the United States is withdrawing.
And now the United States does not even “physically” see Europe at the table with Russia.
Against this backdrop, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of the European Armed Forces. This idea has already been quickly rejected in Poland.
Europeans were shocked by this turn from the United States. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first to recover, saying that his country “can and will” send its contingent to Ukraine as a peacekeeper if a truce with Russia is concluded.
on February 17, French President Emmanuel Macron urgently convened the heads of “leading European states” to form a common position on this issue. However, it was not achieved. As it turned out, Britain, France, and Sweden were in favor of sending peacekeeping contingents to Ukraine, while Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain were against it. Later, Macron said he was not going to send troops to Ukraine.
