The German chancellor is threatening to block the bloc\u2019s budget unless Ukraine gets more aid \u2013 except it\u2019s not really for Ukraine<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has put a knife to the EU\u2019s throat, demanding more cash \u201cfor Ukraine.\u201d So what\u2019s got into him?
\nWhat Merz wants is to make every EU member state bankroll Germany\u2019s Ukraine-linked defense industry, whether they like it or not. If not, he\u2019ll block the EU\u2019s budget.
\nOn the surface, it all seems so performatively sanctimonious. \u201cSupporting Ukraine is a matter of our indivisible European security, and so must be the burden sharing for that support,\u201d Merz says, demanding that all EU nations chip in to commit tens of billions to Ukraine funding into next year and beyond.
\nIn reality, this is actually about funding Germany, not Ukraine \u2013 as the meltdown by Mr. Ten Percent popularity makes painfully clear. \u201cA collective commitment that all of us, without exception, will contribute fairly to closing this gap is an essential prerequisite for resolving this issue and for discussing any further matters, particularly those with financial implications,\u201d Merz said.
\nIn other words, nice seven-year EU budget you have there. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. Like, say, a hostage incident.
\nThe dirty little secret behind this charade is that Ukraine is the convenient cover story for funneling billions into \u201cfrontline defense,\u201d when, in reality, much of that aid loops straight back into the German economy to prop up its own defense giants. That\u2019s according to Germany\u2019s own Federal Agency for Civic Education\u2019s recent report, \u201cAid to Ukraine since 2022,\u201d\u00a0which classifies 78% of Ukrainian aid as military assistance, more than half of which comes from newly procured weapons. The Kiel Institute also found that \u20ac40 billion\u00a0in social spending for Ukrainians never even left Germany, and is limited strictly to those inside its own social welfare system.<\/p>\n
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Merz threatens EU budget veto over Ukraine aid \u2013 media<\/p>\n
Within this context, German stock market star Rheinmetall has scored several contracts tied to Ukrainian aid, including billions for tank ammunition and artillery shells, and hundreds of millions in direct export orders. Meanwhile, Diehl Defense secured major interceptor supply agreements last month, adding to billions more in missile-system contracts last year. Hensoldt, Quantum Systems, Helsing, and ARX Robotics also got a \u20ac6.6 billion slice of the procurement pie in bilateral agreements signed in Kiev in October.
\nSomething has to keep powering what\u2019s left of the German economy \u2013 and the EU\u2019s economic engine \u2013 now that they\u2019ve collectively driven their cheap Russian energy supply to extinction.
\nWhat we\u2019re actually witnessing is Merz crashing out in public and declaring that unless the cash and associated domestic kickbacks keep flowing, he\u2019ll single-handedly blow up the entire seven-year EU budget and take everyone else\u2019s sweet perks down with it.
\nThis comes fresh off Merz performing the same song and dance over the need for Ukrainian energy aid. While unsuspecting onlookers might imagine his deep concern for shivering Ukrainians in wintertime, there\u2019s rather more to it.
\n\u201cBefore the coming winter, two things are important: air defense and the energy sector,\u201d he said a few days ago, alongside Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. \u201cWe have arranged further assistance for both in Kiev, which we are now implementing. We want to make further winter aid and support for energy supplies possible this year.\u201d
\nThe enthusiasm couldn\u2019t possibly have anything to do with the fact that, last month, German companies like Siemens, 50Hertz, and Amprion were named in energy supply agreements for Ukraine this winter, in \u20ac155 million worth of deals.<\/p>\n
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Four EU states defy Merz\u2019s Ukraine funding ultimatum<\/p>\n
Also worth noting: EU rules choke off almost all excessive debt spending across the board \u2013 a real problem for Germany right now, whose own citizens are clamoring for more cash handouts\u00a0\u2013 but Brussels conveniently lifted the limits specifically for defense spending. And, once again, Ukraine was the useful, self-serving pretext.
\nSo while Merz is handcuffed on virtually every other budget line, he\u2019s been shoving whatever he can into the defense spending column \u2013 from domestic pothole and bridge repairs to military recruitment drives that conveniently sweep Germany\u2019s actual unemployment numbers under the rug.
\nMeanwhile, Merz finds himself backed by the Baltics in his Fado-like lament against Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Bulgaria \u2013 countries that have decided to opt out of the whole self-serving Ukraine spending racket.
\n\u201cOne third of support for Ukraine is coming from Nordic [and] Baltic countries,\u201d Estonian Finance Minister J\u00fcrgen Ligi told Rapporteur.\u00a0\u201dBut if we talk about numbers, the GDP, the Baltic states are paying much more, Denmark is paying much more\u2026The ones who are talking in the loudest voice are not necessarily offering the most.\u201d
\nBold move for the Estonian finance minister to show his face on defense spending and related accounting, considering that Estonia\u2019s now-former defense minister had to step down just two months ago when tens of millions its own so-called Ukraine aid, along with cash that it fundraised from some other EU countries (like Denmark and the Netherlands) allegedly vanished into a sketchy weapons company operating out of an Italian Audi dealership that reportedly delivered precisely zero ammunition for Ukraine, according to the Danish investigative outlet Danwatch. Maybe at least get Denmark\u2019s cash back from your last dodgy scheme before encouraging everyone else to follow their example.
\nWith top-tier talent like this steering the ship, it really is a total mystery why Kiev might be feeling that a free ride from the EU is a lot like having a stateroom aboard the Titanic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The German chancellor is threatening to block the bloc\u2019s budget unless Ukraine gets more aid \u2013 except it\u2019s not really for Ukraine German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has put a knife…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t