2024-03-21 04:33:42
Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks in front of the Bundestag. The content of his government statement is likely to be military support for Ukraine. Follow the speech live.
Before the EU summit of European heads of state and government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) makes a government statement in the Bundestag. The focus will once again be on military support for Ukraine, which will also play a central role at the upcoming summit.
Follow Scholz’s speech in the live stream above or in the live ticker:
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2:07 p.m.: FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr steps up to the lectern and initially criticizes AfD members for congratulating Vladimir Putin after the Russian election. Like Scholz, Dürr praises the cohesion within the EU and NATO. In the direction of the CDU, he says that he would like the CDU-led states to agree to the Growth Opportunities Act. This will be voted on in the Federal Council on Friday. The FDP politician criticizes increasing bureaucratization through EU laws.
1:59 p.m.: AfD leader Alice Weidel takes the lectern. She accuses the government of doing nothing to end the war in Ukraine for over two years. She also criticizes the Bundeswehr’s poor defense capabilities. According to Weidel, it is correct that Scholz did not agree to the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles. The AfD leader believes that Ukraine would have no chance of winning against Russia even with this weapon system. Instead, Germany must mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
1:50 p.m.: Katharina Dröge of the Green Party steps up to the lectern and explains that Russian President Vladimir Putin has misjudged everything. He did not count on the courage of Ukraine, the cohesion of the EU and NATO. It would be wrong to abandon this path of cohesion now, emphasizes Dröge. She then accuses the CDU of having made many mistakes in the past 16 years in government, which the traffic lights have improved.
1:48 p.m.: Merz accuses Scholz of not being able to fulfill his leadership responsibilities within the EU because he cannot hold the traffic light government together. With that he ends his speech.
1:44 p.m.: With regard to Ukraine, Merz clearly criticizes Rolf Mützenich, who last week raised the question of how the war in Ukraine could be frozen. Merz also criticizes Scholz for not commenting at that moment. Interjections can be heard from the SPD faction. The CDU leader emphasizes that the debate within the SPD is dangerous for Ukraine.
1:42 p.m.: Merz further emphasizes that a consistent fight against anti-Semitism in Germany is important – especially after the Hamas attack on Israel last October.
1:40 p.m.: The CDU leader also criticizes Scholz for not traveling to Turkey with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last week to discuss, among other things, migration.
1:39 p.m.: Merz calls for higher German defense spending and criticizes Scholz for not addressing this in his speech.
1:36 p.m.: Scholz ends his speech and CDU leader Friedrich Merz takes the lectern.
1:33 p.m.: Scholz then goes into pensions and emphasizes that a stable pension level is important for Germany.
1.30 p.m.: When it comes to research and development, Germany is well ahead. This is one reason for Germany’s good export ability.
1:26 p.m.: In view of the Russian war of aggression, it is important that Germany makes itself safer. Scholz praises Economics Minister Robert Habeck for the efforts to make Germany less dependent on Russian gas. These efforts must be continued.
1:24 p.m.: In the next point, Scholz addresses irregular migration to the EU. Among other things, better border protection and more solidarity among European states are needed. It is already an important step that the number of irregular entries has fallen and the number of returns has increased.
1:21 p.m.: The Chancellor explains that, in his view, there is a need for closer cooperation in the defense industry in the EU, and that constant production of important weapons systems within Europe must be guaranteed. Germany and the EU must not “lose sight of” the defense industry,