Berlin – Concerns raised by the Left party regarding the establishment of a National Security Council potentially shifting the Bundeswehr from a parliamentary army towards one directly controlled by the Chancellor’s office have been refuted by the German government.
Deputy Government Spokesperson Steffen Meyer addressed the anxieties during a press briefing in Berlin, stating, “I do not share this concern at all”. He affirmed that the Bundeswehr would remain a parliamentary army, but clarified the purpose of the National Security Council is to consolidate existing structures and, crucially, to professionalize the implementation of national security policy and to ensure closer coordination.
Meyer added that certain capabilities, such as strategic foresight, would be strengthened through this consolidation. However, he explicitly guaranteed that the Bundestag would retain final authority over deployments of the armed forces abroad.
The Left party’s defense policy spokesperson, Ulrich Thoden, had previously warned that Chancellor Friedrich Merz is aiming to centralize all security policy within the Chancellery. He characterized the National Security Council as granting increased power to the executive branch while simultaneously diminishing transparency and democratic oversight. Thoden emphasized the Bundestag’s critical role in authorizing military deployments, reiterating that the Bundeswehr must remain a parliamentary army and not be transformed into one under the direct command of the Chancellor.
