Germany moves to accelerate military build-up with new procurement law
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
The office of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz approved a draft law aimed at accelerating military planning and procurement. This is part of the ruling coalition's efforts to quickly transform the Bundeswehr into the strongest army in Europe, Bloomberg reports.
"With this draft law, we are removing many of the constraints that have prevented us from moving even faster," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
What the draft law proposes
According to the proposed draft law, mandatory requirements for conducting tenders for defense contracts will be relaxed or completely abolished in particularly urgent cases. Large contracts will no longer need to be split into smaller tenders.
It also includes changes to the planning law concerning air defense radar systems and military airfields.
Environmental standards will also be relaxed—for example, in the construction of military barracks.
A shift in German policy
Earlier this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz relaxed the constitutionally enshrined limits on public debt to ensure higher defense spending.
This step allowed Berlin to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029—a sharp rise compared to NATO’s 2% quota, which it met in 2024 for the first time in three decades.
The historic policy change after many years of neglecting the armed forces was prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It accelerated amid the perception of Vladimir Putin as a growing threat to NATO’s eastern flank.
