German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday promised the country’s military chiefs he will spend significantly more on defence in the longer term.

During a Bundeswehr conference, Mr Scholz said a special fund of €100 billion for the Bundeswehr is only the first critical step.

He was referring to the government’s special fund set up to modernise the military after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow’s war raised questions about the readiness of Germany’s military and led European governments to reassess their defence strategies.

Mr Scholz on Friday guaranteed two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) would be spent on defence permanently, giving a timeframe of the 2020s and 2030s.

The two per cent figure is a goal of the NATO defence alliance.

Berlin would have to spend more than €20 billion on defence yearly to reach this goal.

Mr Scholz confirmed that Germany would reach NATO’s two per cent goal for the first time next year.

“We will guarantee this two per cent in the long term, throughout the 20s and 30s.

“I say that very deliberately because, of course, some of the things you might order now will be delivered in the 30s,” he said.

Beyond funding, Mr Scholz said, “the central action that follows from the turning point is overcoming the organisational and bureaucratic sluggishness that has slowed down the troops for years.’’

“The global political situation confirms how important and necessary this change of course is,’’ said Mr Scholz.

Mr Scholz pointed to the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and also the brutal attacks carried out by the Islamist Hamas movement on Israel last month that triggered another war in the Middle East.

On Friday, he underlined the fact that powerful armed forces are necessary and conceded that Germany had “evaded this question for a long time.’’

The government is to discuss the future course of the armed forces with military leaders at the Bundeswehr conference.

The discussion’s topics included the planned transfer of a brigade to Lithuania and reorganising the Ministry of Defence.

The talks came a day after Defence Minister Boris Pistorius presented his new defence policy guidelines.

(dpa/NAN)