Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, has called for Germany to gift military equipment to Poland. “Poland is a frontline state” he told the “Welt”. “And from the Polish perspective, the unresolved reparations question still lingers”.
He proposed that Germany could acknowledge Poland’s role on the front by donating a submarine, a frigate, or a number of battle tanks. Ischinger explained that Poland’s defense posture also protects Germany, and that “we now have a lot of money for defense-just a small portion of that should go to Poland. The idea feels inspiring”.
Ischinger warned that Germany’s rising defense budget might raise concerns among neighbouring states. “The great financial blessing in the defense area is both militarily necessary and politically sensible. But it will lead to Germany spending more than twice as much on its armed forces than France in the coming years” he said.
In discussions with partners in Paris and Warsaw he sensed that old anxieties about German dominance sometimes resurface. “It will therefore be important to make it clear to partners that we are investing not to regain a dominant position but to make Europe defensible” he added.
He urged the federal government to emphasize the repeated ambition to make the Bundeswehr the strongest conventional army in Europe. “This is not an end in itself, but a contribution to defending all of the continent” Ischinger said, stressing that Germany must proceed with sensitivity.
