The Bundestag is voting again on the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. What effects can this have?
The most important things at a glance
There is probably no debate in German politics that is currently more intense than the discussion about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Even though Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has already ruled out the delivery several times, there will be another vote on the issue in the Bundestag today.
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But what exactly is the vote about and what result can be expected? t-online gives an overview:
What is being voted on?
Specifically, it is about a request from the Union faction. In it, the CDU and CSU call on the federal government, among other things, to “finally and immediately comply with the Ukrainian request for the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles from the Bundeswehr’s available stocks to the greatest possible extent.”
The Union had already submitted a similar application at the end of February. At that time, the parties in the traffic light coalition had prevailed with their own motion in which they advocated “far-reaching” arms deliveries to Ukraine. In contrast to the Union’s application, however, the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles was not explicitly mentioned.
Are there MPs from the traffic light parties who want to approve the motion?
This can be assumed. However, it is unlikely that there will be enough dissidents in the traffic light parties for the Union’s proposal to receive a majority. The SPD parliamentary group seems to be supporting the Chancellor, while there was more opposition from the other traffic light parties.
Video | This is how the high-tech weapon “Taurus” works
Quelle: t-online
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr recently said that the party was in favor of a Taurus delivery, but that there was no recommendation from the parliamentary group leadership to approve it. However, individual Liberal MPs have announced that they want to vote with the Union: This includes the chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. FDP Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki also expressed his approval and stated that at least twelve FDP MPs could vote for the Union proposal.
The Greens are also big advocates for the delivery of cruise missiles. Nevertheless, no dissenting votes are expected from the parliamentary group, said parliamentary manager Irene Mihalic on Wednesday in Berlin. The chairman of the European Committee, Anton Hofreiter, recently told “Spiegel” that he would not vote for the Union’s proposal: It would be dangerous “if, in the current situation, a security policy issue is charged domestically for various reasons.” The situation is too serious for that. Hofreiter is still considered a big supporter of the delivery of cruise missiles.
Why is the Chancellor against the delivery?
Scholz had already ruled out delivery in several places. In the Bundestag on Wednesday he said that he feared that the delivery could drag Germany into war with Russia. “As Chancellor, I have the responsibility to prevent Germany from becoming involved in this war.” The Chancellor had previously pointed out that Taurus could also be used to hit targets in Moscow.
It doesn’t matter whether the cruise missiles are operated in Ukraine or from outside Ukraine, said Scholz. “It’s about participation in where to aim, where to shoot and where to hit. And that shouldn’t happen to German soldiers,” he added. “That’s a line that I don’t want to cross as Chancellor.” It will stay that way.
Luftwaffe officers intercepted during Taurus conversation
However, it is likely that theoretically no German soldiers will be needed to operate the cruise missiles. Russia recently published a recorded conversation between senior Bundeswehr officers in which they discussed Taurus operational scenarios if it were to be delivered to Ukraine. The officers came to the conclusion that the Ukrainians could handle cruise missiles on their own if they were trained long enough beforehand. But Scholz obviously does not want to hand control of weapons into the hands of Ukraine alone.
