The defense‑policy spokesperson for the AfD Bundestag faction, Rüdiger Lucassen, has called for Germany to assume a stronger military leadership role in Europe. According to “Bild”‘s Wednesday edition, he cited a position paper he drafted for the Munich Security Conference. In it, Lucassen argues that “Germany is willing to take on the military leadership for Europe’s security and freedom”. He plans to use the paper as a basis for discussions with U.S. officials and sees it as a response to the U.S. security strategy.
The document outlines that Germany should lead the defense of NATO’s European area and serve as the framework nation for integrating other European partners. A key focus of German military policy, according to Lucassen, will be the “leadership and deployment of main forces to secure NATO’s northeast flank”. He also stresses the need for the navy to jointly secure the North Atlantic with partners, while conducting land‑ and air‑supported operations to protect the Baltic Sea.
To achieve these objectives, Lucassen proposes adding four mechanized army divisions, two additional helicopter wing groups to enable rapid deployment of forward forces on the east flank, the establishment of a cruiser squadron for maritime security in the North Atlantic, and enhancing the German armed forces’ deep‑strike capability.
