Germany Signed Defence Contracts Worth €111 Bln Since 2022: Ministry
BERLIN, April 26 (Bernama-dpa) -- Germany's federal government has signed around 47,000 defence procurement contracts worth a total of €111 billion (US$130.1 billion) since a policy shift announced in 2022, according to data provided by the Defence Ministry, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary inquiry by The Left party lawmaker Dietmar Bartsch, according to documents seen by dpa.
However, the ministry said it could not say how many of the projects had been completed and delivered to the armed forces by March 1, 2026. It said the information could not be centrally evaluated and would require manual review of thousands of pages, making the effort "unreasonable".
Such an exercise could also delay defence-related projects, the ministry added.
Then-chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a so-called "Zeitenwende" in February 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, unveiling a €100 billion special fund to modernise Germany's armed forces.
Germany has since consistently increased its regular defence budget, which is set at €82.7 billion in 2026, alongside €25.5 billion from the special fund.
Bartsch criticised both the scale of military spending and the lack of transparency, noting the ministry was unable to provide a full overview of completed projects. He warned that billions in taxpayer money could be tied up in delayed or ineffective programmes due to weak oversight.
-- BERNAMA-dpa