“It is important to say that aid to Ukraine (military and financial support) is assured and that we provide significant aid both at national level and within the framework of the G7,” declared one of the spokespersons for the German government, Christiane Hoffmann, at a press conference this Friday.
A statement which comes as the German political situation has become unstable with the breakup of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition following the dismissal of the Finance Minister. In this context, discussions on the 2025 budget are suspended. This cannot be adopted as planned this month.
Germany, which remains the main provider of aid to Ukraine among the countries of the European Union and the second after the United States globally, had planned a volume of military aid of around four billion euros. A sum which is halved compared to 2024.
If the German budget cannot be adopted due to lack of a majority in Parliament, provisional management would apply from January. The only expenses necessary for the functioning of administrations and imposed by law would be maintained. In practice, however, the Ministry of Finance could authorize ministries to use each month a percentage of the appropriations from the draft budget which has not yet been adopted. Part of the funds could therefore be allocated to Ukraine under the German Constitution which guarantees that “the federal state is able to act” in the event of an exceptional budgetary situation.
At the start of the week, the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, on a trip to Ukraine, had already wanted to reassure kyiv, which lacks men and ammunition to contain the firepower of the Russian army on the front.
“I repeat it very clearly. We stand firmly by your side as long as you need us,” she stressed, even if Germany refuses to support Ukraine in its accession to NATO and to provide it with long-range Taurus missiles which could affect Russian territory, leading to a potential escalation of the conflict.
