{"id":26479,"date":"2017-11-09T16:05:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T16:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/09\/us-nukes-on-german-soil-merkels-would-be-government-sizes-up-defense-priorities\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:06:28","slug":"us-nukes-on-german-soil-merkels-would-be-government-sizes-up-defense-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2017\/11\/09\/us-nukes-on-german-soil-merkels-would-be-government-sizes-up-defense-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Armed drones for Germany? Merkel\u2019s would-be government sizes up defense priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 Following Germany\u2019s vote in September to give Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union another term as chancellor, parties continue to negotiate the objectives of the new government. Here\u2019s a rundown of key national security topics that are up for grabs in a likely coalition of the CDU, the Free Democratic Party and the Green Party:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military spending:<\/b> Germany\u2019s military spending in 2016 was roughly $41 billion, or 1.2 percent of the country\u2019s gross domestic product, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The Merkel government has subscribed to the NATO goal of increasing that share to 2 percent, so there is little reason to expect a change in Germany\u2019s position. The Greens, as the smallest coalition partner with 8.9 percent of voter support, have rejected a defense-spending target, arguing that nonmilitary expenses for crisis response are getting the short shrift in such an equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s likely that spending on United Nations and European Union defense projects will see a new emphasis in a final, binding coalition declaration, according to Christian M\u00f6lling, an analyst at the Berlin-based think tank German Council on Foreign Relations. That is because non-NATO initiatives are currently considered more palatable across the parties, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense exports:<\/b> Previous plans by German tank-maker Rheinmetall for something of a bridgehead facility in Turkey to the Middle Eastern market has renewed the discussion about exporting German weapons to regimes believed to commit human rights violations. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, now out of government, and the Greens are proving particularly vocal on this issue, advocating for a more restrictive policy. The CDU, which at 33 percent of votes in September\u2019s election is the largest bloc, likely wants to preserve the status quo, while the Free Democratic Party (10.7 percent) could go either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armed drones: <\/b>War by UAVs remains a thorny topic in Germany. Berlin doesn\u2019t like what it considers lax U.S. policies governing drone strikes to kill terrorists, and politicians are wary of a largely hostile public opinion on the subject. At the same time, Germany\u2019s Federal Ministry of Defence has said for years it needs those weapons to ensure the safety of soldiers during deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the summer, lawmakers with the Social Democratic Party of Germany pulled a budget proposal from parliamentary consideration that would have funded a handful of Israeli Heron TP drones use by the Bundeswehr, Germany\u2019s armed forces. The lawmakers argued that the subject of lethal aerial drones had not been sufficiently debated.<\/p>\n\n\n\t