Germany’s new left-wing coalition government is preparing a law that will tighten the conditions for arms exports, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after it was revealed that during former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s last nine days in office, her government signed arms deals worth almost €5 billion with Egypt and Singapore.
“During the coalition talks, we agreed with the partners on the conditions under which German weapons could be exported abroad,” Baerbock told the German news agency DPA.
The move could strengthen the arms industries of China and Russia, with foreign countries turning to other arms exporters once locked out of the German market.
The left-wing coalition, which brings together the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Liberals (FDP), aims to tighten arms exports to third countries, i.e. countries outside the European Union and NATO. The restriction would mainly affect Egypt, one of Germany’s most important customers.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a foreign affairs expert of the opposition Conservative parties, defended the previous government by saying it had acted in accordance with current legislation, and criticism from left-wing parties was nothing more than “the shedding of crocodile tears.”
The expert also pointed out that Germany’s national security interests must be taken into account to a large extent when designing arms export reform.
“It is in Germany’s interest that the arms policy of the Middle East be supported by EU member states. If this is not possible, the Middle East will turn to the Russians and the Chinese for arms,” Kiesewetter warned.
In the last days of the previous government, Berlin approved the sale of three warships and 16 air defense systems to Egypt, according to Hungarian news outlet Magyar Nemzet. The ships are supplied to the North African country by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and the air defense systems by Diel Defense.
The deal received a green light despite strong criticism of Egypt’s human rights practices and involvement in the conflicts in Yemen and Libya. In addition to Egypt, Singapore is also affected by export restrictions, but the Asian country will receive one German submarine. At the demand of opposition socialist Die Linke, the German Ministry of the Economy said on Saturday that the total value of last-minute deals was approaching €5 billion.
Incidentally, German arms exports have set a new record this year, with sales worth €9.04 billion. The previous peak of €8.02 billion was reached in 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Germany, along with the United States, Russia, and France, is one of the largest arms exporters, accounting for 5.5 percent of the global arms trade between 2016 and 2020.
