Eduardo González
Germany’s ambassador to Spain, Wolfgang Dold, assured yesterday that his country’s decision to send arms to a war zone, specifically to Ukraine, “constitutes a 180-degree turn in German foreign policy” and has had the support of all the members of Olaf Scholz’s coalition government.
“Germany’s new government has not yet completed 100 days in office, but it is already facing the biggest security crisis in Europe since the end of the Cold War; they have not even had time to fight among themselves,” said the ambassador during a telematic conversation with the director of the Elcano Royal Institute, Charles Powell, entitled The first 100 days of the new German government: global challenges and opportunities in relations with Spain and which was presented by the president of the Think Tank, José Juan Ruiz.
“From the very beginning, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was resolutely involved in the Russia crisis, traveling twice to Kiev, to the United States, to Moscow and with visits to European partners,” he continued. “Until February 24, Germany opted for dialogue,” but Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine “forced us to a different approach” and to approve, on the part of European countries, “sanctions of an unprecedented magnitude,” she said. “Germany is ready to bear the consequences and the costs of sanctions,” he assured.
Apart from that, the measures taken by the Scholz government represent “a turning point for Germany in the international order,” Dold said. “For the first time, the Federal Republic of Germany will send weapons to a war zone; this is a 180-degree turn in Germany’s foreign policy,” he said.
Also, just one day after approving this arms shipment to Ukraine, the Chancellor announced last Sunday, during an extraordinary session of the Bundestag, a substantial increase in defense spending, with a special fund of 100 billion euros for the modernization of the armed forces and an annual defense increase of 2 percent of GDP in the coming years.
This change of course in Germany’s traditional defense policy “is supported by the cohesion of the coalition government,” the ambassador assured. “There have been no voices from the coalition government against this new policy, which includes the support of the opposition, the CDU,” the ambassador added, a day after the different sensitivities regarding this conflict within the coalition government of Pedro Sánchez were once again expressed in Spain. Spain is one of the few EU states that have not committed to sending arms to Ukraine.
The Berlin government is also preparing measures to adapt to Germany’s more than likely energy decoupling from Russia, Dold explained. “Germany will reduce its dependence on imports from regular energy suppliers in order to boost the expansion of renewable energies,” he said. Besides, he warned, energy interconnectivity in Europe has become a “priority” in view of the need to reduce dependence on Russia, a challenge in which “Spain has a very important role as an energy bridge and producer of green energy”.
On the other hand, according to Wolfgang Dold, the Ukraine crisis “has made it clear that the transatlantic relationship is a fundamental pillar and that NATO is an essential part of security”. However, he warned, “in a world marked by insecurity, we need a sovereign Europe that is a strong player.” “It is not about differentiating from NATO, but about complementing transatlantic defense,” he continued. In this regard, the ambassador highlighted “the very close positions of Spain and Germany on European foreign and security policy and in favor of European strategic sovereignty.”
