Germany Steps Up: How Ukraine Has Changed Germany - TLDR News

[@caifasvaca9451]

As a German, I can’t tell you how utterly weird it feels to see Germany being cheered for immensely arming up. That being said, I too feel it’s the right thing to do.

[@Pflunze]

To me it doesn't feel right at all. We already have the 7th largest military budget (50 billion vs Russia's 60 billion), after the raise it will be 3rd largest (83 billion). That feels like a total overkill... The money would be way better spent on energy reform, infrastructure, solving the housing crisis, you name it.

[@Bluei720]

No need to feel weird friend, nationalism is no crime.

[@comanchio1976]

It's Coming up to a hundred years since the 1930's. It's time to leave the past behind and look to the collective security of Europe.

[@TheLonelyKittyCat]

@@Pflunze The wages are much lower in Russia so a one to one comparision isn´t really fair. Äpfel mit Birnen halt ;)

[@Hannodb1961]

Sorry dude. Russia is the one acting like Nazi's here, you better get used to the isolation. Regards from South Africa.

[@celestinosilva8681]

European here but not German. i am also of the sentiment that EU beefing up their military is the right thing to do and more countries should do the same as Germany, at least to whatever point their own finances allows BUT its imperative that we all keep working together and keep rowing in the same direction so to speak., I am happy and almost dare say proud of this new unity we are seeing in EU but also ashamed of the price being paid for it, i.e the conflict in Ukraine

[@celtspeaksgoth7251]

they have enough weapons but no willpower. No heart, at least not in the west of Europe

[@drachmenoshikuru1794]

🇪🇺🕊

[@joachimhupe4018]

🇪🇺

[@KonsulGando]

easy integrate every military formation with each other to the point they are codependent. War between those Forces is impossible.

[@CheeseOfMasters]

@@KonsulGando lol reminds me of 40k

[@peteryeng]

I lived in Germany for 4 months doing research work. I struck me how Germany was haunted by the ghost of past wrongs when the nation has clearly become different. I felt that Germany owed itself and the world to forgive its own wrongs and take its proper place on the world stage. But I have no right to become opininated on this since I have no historical connection to Germany's war history as perpetrator or victim . But I am glad to see Germany rearming as a keeper of the peace. The German people I met were wonderful, and I have great confidence that a strong Germany is what Europe needs. Gottes Segen.

[@jonz23m]

Ramping up the military and escalation never lead to peace in the history of the world. Just a hint.

[@oskarmartin6486]

@@jonz23m Yeah thats true but sadly thats human nature. Germans thought that a strong military isn't needed anymore, but a country just a couple hundred miles away getting invaded shows that to be safe you also have to be able to defend yourself.

[@oskarmartin6486]

I think the German way of dealing with it's history is one of the best things about us. Remembering the atrocities of the past instead of denying them, like so many other countries do. I don't feel like I need to be forgiven because what Germany did while my grandmother was still a baby. But, I'll remember, every time I walk past a memorial or a small golden cobblestone with a name on it, I'll remember what hate can make a whole nation do.

[@DakotaofRaptors]

@@oskarmartin6486 if only Japan could follow suit...

[@chriskalogrias926]

@@oskarmartin6486 First of all I'd like to point out, the allies that defeated Germany thought that it is better for Germany to not have an army. It wasn't your decision. Secondly, did you know we greeks didn't ask for restorations after war seeing that the catastrophy in Germany was so big? We will not forget how you've been towards us lately. Or how Germany goes against the best interests of another european country to support non europeans like Turkey. You said ''I don't feel like I need to be forgiven because (of) what Germany did while my grandmother was still a baby.'' How would you feel if I said, ''I don't feel I need to pay back to Germany all these money that my grandfather borrowed from them.'' It literally has nothing to do with me, but it affects my life. You see the irony? I'm just trying to make a point here. Other than that, I feel also it is time for unity in Europe, but what you said is outrageous and I couldn't just get past it. :)

[@luke-oakley]

As a German, I think it is about time that we step up. A strong military is more likely to prevent any future conflicts, because it will make countries think twice before messing with the EU.

[@AIArtworks45]

@Mike Tyson It's just... LOL! XD Open youtube comments and find a fantasy book novel.

[@jurgennolte7577]

EU is corrupt looks like you have been fooled by them.

[@jakubzov]

@@enkidugilgamesh 🤡

[@madisongittens4007]

I’m American … we have to work on ballistic missile air defense 🇺🇸❤️🇩🇪

[@gHGhej]

I am sure there is evidence for that, no arms races, the only thing to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun! 😒

[@lwwells]

I think it's wonderful. The EU shouldn't be dependent on Russia for energy or the US for defense. However, we should maintain strong business ties and communication with everybody. BTW, I'm an American living in Germany.

[@1EnZBosS1]

Nah fk em /s

[@aliciasschorra1306]

Totally agree

[@whiteCourier]

Fuck that, as long as Russia is ruled by a bloodthirsty dictator we should avoid any business ties with them.

[@lwwells]

@@whiteCourier They have no business outside of petroleum. You have no worries there. I think it was McCain that called Russia a "Gas station with a flag".

[@cr90captain89]

i should also stress as an American , that the USA up to this point has been picking up the deficits of countries who do not meet the 2% target. by increasing its own defense spending. it is not fun, but it needed to be done, we are loyal to our allies to a fault, & will even make up for the deficits of our friends. until they are able to support that spending. America is what was keeping Russia from rolling over Europe, but ever since we got a weak president i.e. Biden, the Russian president feels emboldened. sadly Ukraine is paying the price.

[@nicolasgrinberg1996]

As a frenchman I'm happy Europe is finally stepping up and thinking about how to become more self-reliant militarily and in energy. Great news

[@vettemuziekjes]

europe has been "thinking" forever. result, total dependency on russia. Idk, europe may not be too good at "thinking" as that is the main reason we're in this shit now. Maybe europe can just "think" putin back to russia ?

[@filou89]

I am German but first and foremost I am a young (30yrs.old) European. If ANY other European Nation would get attacked I would understand that as a direct attack on Germany and European territory as well.... We need to grow even closer and understand each other as One !!!

[@hovawartfreunde4599]

This is the turning point when Europe grew up. I am proud we stand together

[@nicolasgrinberg1996]

Totally agree. It's about time we stop pretending we live in the 90s

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

T’enfilâmes pas leurs premiers achat c’est du matériel ricain hein.

[@zenmestermarci1186]

The EU shouldn't be reliant on NATO to ensure it's strategic safety. I think that Germany's increased defence spending is entirely correct and every EU member should meet the 2% of GDP spending

[@notyourdaddude1957]

Romania with 2.5 be like: 👀

[@juhannusruusu]

@@notyourdaddude1957 what about it?

[@freesoftwareextremist8119]

Defense spending is not the problem. The German army already is more well funded than the French one, which is active all over the world, while the German army has no functioning equipment. The problem is all that money gets wasted in bureaucracy, consultants, etc

[@valeriudragalin8800]

@@enjel1147 because Romania and Poland are closer to Russia...

[@blizzi8428]

Shouldve been the starting point of an EU-Army :/

[@that_artsy_boy675]

The Nordstream 2 was one of Russia's biggest cards in Europe. Olaf Scholz played the right moves at the right time, and his ability to quickly adapt the flexibility of policies to fit the fast paced changes shows he's a good leader so far. Great for Germany, great for Europe.

[@milantoth6246]

Huge yes. When the SPD got into power, i was very critical. Scholz has done surprisingly better than what i expected from him. Him and Macron will make a strong combo long term.

[@JavierAlbinarrate]

In reality halting the certification of the pipeline is more of a symbolic gesture, as certification was only scheduled for the second half of the year AFAIK. So, this speaks more of Putin's terrible timing. In fact remember that the winter is almost over and consumption is going down towards summer. So invading right now was the worst possible time for a prolonged conflict. He truly felt in his guts he would be done in just 3 days without even giving time to sanctions. Even the west believed that. That was a huge HUGE miscalculation.

[@Janoip]

@ISME 777 Most of the time almost nobody thinks that Russia is Germany's enemy, even now only few think that Russia would attack Germany. Germany and other EU countries have bought gas from the Soviets even during the Cold War. I also believe that after Ukraine they will lay something, sanctions will be eased by the West, but the arming and the possible threat but Russia remains. And about nuclear power, no that's not true and I don't think nuclear power will be a big issue in Germany again, also because Habeck, the industry and economy president, etc. are against it. And also the power plant operators do not see, how one can convert that still meaningfully, alone until one has new fuel rods (which become special custom-made) it lasts if it runs well 1-2 years. And again to the gas, it was simply worthwhile for Europe, it was cheaper than all other alternatives, for the states involved in the pipelines it was worthwhile to sell the gas to other EU states, also in the Nord Stream 2 were Great Britain/Netherlands with e.g. Shell, France, Finland, Switzerland, Austria with 10% each. France has also financed together with China Russia's major entry into the LNG business and built Yamal LNG, it was simply financially worthwhile and one would not have thought that Russia goes so far.

[@shadowbanned636]

@@JavierAlbinarrate this invasion was launched at the worst possible time for another reason, in addition to those you already mentioned - it is time for the spring thaw in Ukraine. Apparently the Russians have forgotten how springtime Ukrainian mud halted the Germans on these exact same fields 80 years ago - now it is THEIR turn to experience the exact same thing.

[@TheBooban]

@@milantoth6246 he is getting alot of praise because this is the right decision at the right time. But the problem is that this was always the right decision. They already had Nord stream 1 and they wanted to double down? 2% should have always been the norm. Just shows how wishy washy politicians are bending in the wind to their wishy washy voters. Foolish people all around.

[@Sam-vy8ye]

Allies after WW1: We must limit German military expansion never again let military might grow. Allies after WW2: We must limit German military expansion and never again let military might grow. Allies now: Pls Germany spend more on military we need you

[@raka522]

Not correct! The post-WWII allies desperately needed German soldiers against the Warsaw Pact, and in the 1990s the Bundeswehr was the strongest NATO army on the continent with 500,000 active soldiers, 2.5 million reservists, and 5,000 tanks...

[@lagg1e]

AND GERMANY SHALL ANSWER!

[@AlphaHorst]

A minor mistake. The budget of the Bundeswehr was not increased to 100billion, as is shown in the graph. It will be increased next year, probably to 72billion to keep atleast the 2% target. The Bundeswehr got a 100billion bonus for this year. Meaning the 2022 budget is almost 150billion euros. So they basically got an entire 2% year as a bonus to get started.

[@bessabesse2855]

Youre right but German economy is 4.3T € so in 2023 with more than 2% of its GDP the budget will be over 85 to 90 Billion €

[@kapudanuderya]

How they plan to spend all of it at once?

[@AlphaHorst]

@@kapudanuderya well my guess is to spend about half on repairs and stocks to operate the gear we have. The Bundeswehr has quite a bit of equipment but most of it needs repairs and service. And with most I mean 90% or more. The other half is going into new equipment, primarily planes. And some into getting more troops. The 42billion they usually had will be used to keep the organisation itself running as usual so mainly personal costs and upkeep for buildings and infrastructure.

[@Packless1]

...a significant share of the 100bn. € is for repairs and to fix other problems e.g. caused by mismanagement... ...'Make the Bundeswehr functioning again' before buying new equippment...!

[@rodox2832]

Most of the money will dissappear in administration and bureaucracy but maybe the will ditch the fax machines.

[@revolverDOOMGUY]

Germany be like: "gentlemen, enough talking about our military past, let's talk about our military future"

[@maxrichter3098]

Jawohl!

[@rogerhearn5243]

Yes lets waste more public money on the means to kill other humans.

[@albertalu4583]

@@rogerhearn5243 Some humans unfortunately need to be killed, such as the ones who intend to violate your freedom and nation

[@Kerryboi]

@@rogerhearn5243 An example of an idiot. To prevent a war you need good weaponary. Thats exactly why coutries own nuclear weapons so other countries DONT mess with them. They are not meant to be used they are meant to SCARE. Like in the 1900s you didnt mess with a country with a navy ”fleet in beign”. People upgrade their military to PROTECT not to attack. A big difference.

[@PeachDragon_]

@@rogerhearn5243 it's for freedom you clown

[@1337Jogi]

As a german I thoroughly support the shift. We need greater european autonomy from the US but especially Russia while at the same time keep a close relations to the US. To critizise the US and at the same time entirely rely on their protection is also hypocritical. I hope we can create a strong partnership with france and other european countries around us regarding energy and the military. To be so dependant on any one country is foolish. It is bad enough to be so extremely dependant on China regarding rare metals, minerals and chipmaking.

[@PendulumCancel]

Hearing about the shift somewhat back in favor of nuclear plants is probably the highlight of my day. Closing those plants only helped Putin imo and nuclear power is absolutely necessary for the reduction of emissions and fighting climate change. For a couple of months now I was actually feeling really alienated from the green movement because of this. I'm legit happy to see this development.

[@mikicerise6250]

One thing we can do in the short term is leverage Spanish capacity for regasification over the warmer summer months. Import gas from Algeria through the pipelines, and LNG from the US for regasification in Spain. Links over the Pyrenees are not large enough to secure supply in winter, but what you can do is continue importing throughout the summer months, when gas use is lower, and stockpile it for next winter.

[@TheExplorder]

Netherlands is discussing bringing 1.85% of GDP back to military spending. With companies like Thales based in the Netherlands, this will bring a massive player back to the world stage, ready to join with NATO members.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

@@PendulumCancel Nuclear power won't come back. It is simply not an option as there is no switch which can simply be switched to have them run longer. The real mistake was once more a conservative one: instead of following the plans of the red-.green coalition before, they stalled the investment into alternative energy sources and then shut down the reactors even sooner than planned. The current government inherited a land which has not started any ongoing project for 16 years, no signifcant reform and no impulse for europe. In a way it is good that Scholz now is forced to do something, but it is already clear that he won't get reelected because the Germans are Merkel: reliable, slow and reluctant to change.

[@peterfmodel]

Very true. The US will become increasing involved with China so should not be relied upon in europe. I feel Germany is a key element of the future of Europe.

[@zebzidovskis]

Germany always seemed focused on not repeating Hilter's agressions and to remain pacifist. It's not enough to learn from your own mistakes. Germany has a responsiblity not to repeat Neville Chamberlain's and Édouard Daladier's mistakes in 'Apeasment' during war crimes and genocides.

[@noobster4779]

Well the last 30 years of US foreign policy have given Germany unlimited reasons for its policy. The USA even wanted to drag Germany into the illegal Iraq war under Bush...and then there was the Afghanistan desaster..... Germany was very much agaisnt the expedition military certain Nato countries have and still is against it. You wont see german military invading anybody r participating in anything outside of Nato Article 5 or UN/EU sanctioned operations. Germany is simply increasing its army back for home defense similar to the cold war. There will be no shift in policy concerning US military clustrerfucks outside of europe. And if Germany would follow what you claim then Nato would be in abit of a massove crisis considering Nato previously acted very similar to Russia right know in ohter parts of the world (sadly). Personally I want Nato to dissolve and the EU become the european Nato. If russias invasion of ukraine has shown one thing then that even today russia couldnt conquer or really threaten the EU with conventional military. Th EU needs its own foreign and military policy fully independent from Russia and the USA. No more getting dragged into US imperialism as a price for Nato membership.

[@nathanodonovan6708]

It is worth bearing in mind, though, that Appeasement did what it was supposed to do. No one actually thought Appeasement would prevent a war, anything like that was just rhetoric. The whole point of the Appeasement policy was to buy time for Britain and France to re-arm and prepare for war, which it did succeed in doing. Now it is true that the Axis spent that time much more effectively than Britain or France did, I certainly wouldn't argue otherwise, but people do tend to forget that there had been a massive reduction in the militaries of most of the countries involved in WWI and it takes time to rebuild that strength, especially since there was little stomach for another war.

[@konanpl8936]

@@nathanodonovan6708 Bullshit. If France and Great Britain would attack nazis when they attacked Poland, WWII would end much faster with much, much less casualties, because III Reich was almoust emty, all theirs armies was in Poland at this moment. Appeasment was tragic policy in every point.

[@OK-ws7ti]

@@nathanodonovan6708 after chamberlain returned to britan the newspapers claimed the war and public sentiment at home concurred

[@homomenace]

As a Czech i completely agree.

[@derfuchs3296]

The shift is especially surprising considering how Scholz‘s SPD, including Scholz himself, always had very close ties to Russia who were always in favour of keeping up Russian energy trade. To see leading figures of the Party like Scholz and Schwesig distancing themselves from Russia is a very big sign.

[@aceofhearts573]

You do understand the USA would consider Germany an enemy if they continued to have relations with russia. Even the socialist in germany fear american retribution

[@derfuchs3296]

@@aceofhearts573 I mean they really didn’t give a shit about that up until 2 weeks ago but US pressure definitely was a factor there

[@derfuchs3296]

@@aceofhearts573 and please don’t call the SPD socialist lmao. They are social democrats

[@Spankee99]

It’s a positive development but it’s going to take a lot of work and time to move away from institutional appeasement.

[@hanpol2053]

I don't think it's all that surprising Putins or russias decission was very unpopular in Germany and germany is mostly pragmatic buying cheap gas from russia made sense, economically and most other nations who can deliver the same amount can't do so at the price and most of them are dictatorships as well. Saudi Arabia not good, Nigeria no infrastructure and also not the nicest or msot stable place

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

At the beginning of Putin's war I was more enraged at Germany than for a long time. But the German government has quickly understood that its appeasement and "economy first" policy has reached its limits and reacted really quickly. I liked Merkel, but many of Merkel's misjudgements or missed opportunities now bite us in the ass.

[@coderentity2079]

I take economy first and appeasement over ww3 any day. Understanding and working together and avoiding arm conflicts is the way to go. Spending 2% on defense does not hurt though - as it helps avoiding armed conflicts.

[@danunpronounceable8559]

@@coderentity2079 who's talking about ww3 here? Like Germany is going to invade Russia?

[@roqsteady5290]

@@coderentity2079 continual appeasement of Putin, especially with respect to Crimea is what got us in this very dangerous situation in the first place.

[@coderentity2079]

@@roqsteady5290 You prefer a nuclear war then. Ok. I do not. I prefer heavy dependence on each other and lots of intertwined interests and dealings. That makes war not worth it.

[@coderentity2079]

@@danunpronounceable8559 Nah, nobody ever heard of such developments. Joke aside, why do you think ww3 can only get started by Germans? They were quite peaceful until now, and a 2% defense budget is still not offensive. All you need is a madman at a helm of a nuclear arsenal. Wait a minute, we have more than one! Maybe don't provoke them?

[@SwordQuake2]

Of course it's brilliant that Europe is working together. And Macron is completely right: Europe needs to ensure its independence from both Russia and the USA.

[@0penminds]

EU or Europe? They are not the same thing.

[@SwordQuake2]

@@0penminds preferably both but as a start EU

[@MowMiDi]

Sadly, but nowadays you can’t separate the whole Europe from both of them at the same time, you have to choose one of them as a alliance to work with together. Having tight bonds with Russia which was ruled in barbarous way by Mongols for centuries it exactly equals what we can observe right now. It’s not XIX-XX century anymore.

[@SwordQuake2]

@@MowMiDi not completely sever ties but reduce our dependence. The US is still a valuable ally but they have way too much influence over Europe. We're like a colony to them.

[@marcanthony7020]

@@SwordQuake2 A colony? You got the best military protection in the world FREE. Literally trillions of dollars….FOR FREE! What did America get in return? A bunch of countries that OPENLY ignored their NATO spending AGREEMENTS and… Nord Stream 2.

[@jorenbaplu5100]

As a Belgian I am very in favor of an EU army. Our own is underfunded and practically useless. But combined with everyone else our tax dollars might be actually used in a meaningful way

[@toledoseahawks3348]

Of course it is underfunded. Belgium doesn't need an army, as its biggest threat is Belgium itself.

[@onlyjake3851]

Hopefully an EU military will lead towards EU federalisation

[@menotfunnyclips8982]

you mean more tax ? nah i dont want it

[@jorenbosmans8065]

Our army is not useless, but indeed underfunded. I think an EU army would also help us smaller nations to have a more effective spending in our military. It might be due to my lack of knowledge, but I am wondering if we are spending money on things we need but could be cheaper through cooperation.

[@jorenbaplu5100]

@@toledoseahawks3348 lol, remember when they shot down their own F16 with another one while cleaning it. Or more recently when they burned down massive amounts of nature reserve.

[@MGL83]

As a European living in Germany, I support the idea of stronger closer cooperating Europe, and I am happy to pay my taxes to fund this. Europe needs to pull together and be at least equal strength as the other world powers. I don't want to be bullied by Russia, or anyone else. Enough of this shit.

[@UniDeathRaven]

+

[@visiochannel2]

Mayby it would be a good idea that also military training would take an even greater turnign of cooperation in the eu region, if your in military you could more easier go train in a other eu land ... this would keep the military forces landknowable of europe region so that each part is some how familiar ,for each other coutries. So no matter where in the eu in the groups there would some-one that would know the region minus coutnries military secrets offcource -- just that the borders would be recognisable for each country --mayby the radio-envoys should have this knowledge ... and take tours on the borders .

[@helloworld7222]

Germans are Europeans......

[@cy-one]

@@helloworld7222 Your point being?

[@nebojsaandjelkovic2990]

Germany is a Vassal of USA, who is doing all kinds of atrocities around the world... NATO = North Atlantic Terrorist Organisation... Wake up, Russia is defending its self from the Global Imperial Hegemony

[@mab9614]

Yes, Habeck said that (to my great surprise). However, as a nuclear engineering student myself, I didn’t think it was possible to extend the operation of the last three Konvoi reactors. I have studied Konvoi reactor, which is one of the best on earth. First of all, paragraph 7 of the Atomic Energy Act must be changed, which dictated that all German reactors must be shuttered by Dec. 31, 2022. That will take at least a few months. Second, German utilities have to scramble to secure new nuclear fuel bundles. Previously, German utilities purchased most of their nuclear fuel bundles from RUSSIA... That will take at least a year. Third, many reactor operators have already taken early retirement. A certain former German chancellor said, “the die is cast.” The die is casted, but Germany lost the gamble with Russia. Edit: I’m not German.

[@fionafiona1146]

Atom-ausstiegausstiegausstiegausstieg? Ich glaube da ist irgendwo was schief gelaufen. I don't know if nuclear is sensible in this context but the original plans did ditch nuclear for a comprehensive gird and renewable expansion, before it got cancelled, Fukushima happened and worse contracts got into place.

[@egggge4752]

Yeah, the abolition of nuclear power in germany was the biggest geopolitical mistake in germany since 1939. Thats why you never let idealists (the greens) dictate your policies.

[@piccalillipit9211]

When Trump is right about your energy decisions - that should be a massive RED FLAG...

[@fionafiona1146]

@@egggge4752 The plans under which it was originally contracted would have put Germany in a much better position now, including fewer strategic targets.

[@anteeko]

@@egggge4752 the crazy thing is phasing out nuclear had enormous consequenses on German CO2 emission. It is just insany, The green are directly respeonsible for a major increase of their own country of their own country. At this stage, the politician that scare me the most regarding pollution are the greens..

[@daniell1483]

From the US with great love for Europe, I sincerely think it is the right decision. For decades, Europe has relied on the US for its security, and I think that has led to a false sense of "immunity" to big geopolitical changes. With the recent refocus in the US towards the Pacific, my nation cannot be the world police in this new multi-polar world. Ideally, I'd like to see Europe united as a truly equal partner across the Atlantic. The EU could then check Russian aggression while the US can then focus fully on China. I like to think of Europe as America's older brother and sincerely want us to stand side by side in our mutual love for liberty, democracy, and freedom. We work best together united.

[@GothPaoki]

That's a lot of bs right there. We never relied on you. You relied on us cause you wanted to have bases outside Russia and install your nuclears.

[@dumbr457]

As another American who sincerely cares about Europe, I agree. However, we should be careful about calling ourselves "big brother". We are in fact, the little brother in terms of history. We are brothers no doubt, but the term "big brother" makes it sound like we are the wiser and more mature protector. We are not. We are to strive for equal footing with our peers. I'm sure your meant no harm, but we use our words carefully and respectfully in this age of misinformation and propaganda.

[@varieedeventualii]

This is true, but US administrations should've been a bit more "fair" since WW2...of course US wanted Eu to spend a bit more on defense but is not like they "really" pushed for it, since they didn't want EU countries to have "too much" defense...now they do, but we here in EU got used to the previous posture for so long so...

[@paxamericania5923]

Being i. The USA born here I feel like the nation is a tired giant as it has to be everywhere and bamace constantly to keep gobal stability as stable as possible trying to police around the goble. Having eroupe being able to defend itself and help keep eroupe safe wpuld help alot for the usa to focus somewhere else like Asia and maybe put some more focus into Africa to help developing nations their.

[@f.a.6975]

@@dumbr457 such a reflected mindset should be a standart for everyone.

[@Bhethar]

I’m Italian and my country was one of the most vocal against sanctioning Putin. I cannot say how ashamed I feel. While I do understand that Russia was our main trading partner, the images coming from Ukraine are haunting. Europe needs to stand United against Putin and his little European fan club.

[@timeovah9190]

sfortunatamente siamo un ammasso di capre , la penso come te

[@afx88lexx]

Its fantastic that to rule people text even not needed… just images from media.

[@Humanaut.]

As a German, all I hope is that Germany/Europe can really live up to humanitarian/enlightenment/libertarian/democratic values and not fall into the trap that all other imperial powers seem to fall into - namely the desire to dominate, subjugate, coerce, manipulate and exploit.

[@davidmil23]

You alresdy are, im sorry

[@carno.5911]

@@davidmil23 How? Most accusiations against germany as a suposed supressor of outer countries , steems mostly from outer countries crying in envy about our Higher economic effort Mindset and that we in this dont help them getting done their one shit right.

[@theredjoker8857]

That's exactly what we are doing. Europe is upholding democratic values because it is in the position to do so. If you are a hegemony you want peace to remain in that position and not war disturbing your success. If germany was instead in the position of russia now we would probably do the same and defend our imperialist claims by war as russia now does. Every imperialist capitalist nation is doomed to do so. It will only get worse in the future.

[@Humanaut.]

@@theredjoker8857 I agree with some of what you said - namely that "if we were in russia's position we would do the same". The thing is, as europeans/germans we aren't really a hegemon, and if so, then we are a very regional one but we are and ever since ww2 have always been under the umbrella of the USA and their core interests. only rarely have we tried to oppose the will of the US even though we have a very different take on agressive interventionist foreign policy. My issue is, once we have more military power again, will we be tempted to use it to gain more advantage for us (like all empires eventually do) ? Humans are generally speaking hippocrits - we claim to abide by certain principles, but only as long as they serve our own interests... The USA wants to "uphold an international rule based order" - but breaks the rules any times it sees fit.

[@theredjoker8857]

@@Humanaut. Agreed. And yes Germany is just a regional European hegemon. But also all imperialist countries try to get as much advantages as possible and try to be independent as possible. Germany will now bolster its grip over europe and become more independent from US imperialism and defend its own possessions and spheres of influence from russian imperialism.

[@Emi-gj2du]

It’s about time we create an European Army. I am a proud European citizen and I believe in the EU project. We can all be united while keeping our own different cultures. The answer in 2022 is stronger together, not going back to a middle age view of Europe. It’s time for more integration, more unity, an European Constitution and an European sense of belonging. It doesn’t matter where I’m from in the EU, I am, we are ONE.

[@jsmith498]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[@Emi-gj2du]

@@jsmith498 77 years ago we were killing each other. Now we move, live and work freely in every EU country, while using 1 currency (for the majority of the countries). I bet 77 years ago somebody said ‘yeah, good luck’ to whoever wanted an united Europe, and here we are today. Cheers

[@jeckjeck3119]

@@Emi-gj2du Uniting is the only way to survive against dictators of Russia and China. It's not even about wanting it, it's about needing it!

[@1ProAssassin]

@@Emi-gj2du I mean yeah they said good luck uniting it quite a few times with WW1, WW2 and the cold war. If nations were just willing to just join then there would be no need for those wars/conflicts.

[@solsunman383]

As a former Brexiteer, I can see now that we all need to stand united in Europe. I hope one day that we can earn our place back in the European project too.

[@andrewjones-productions]

Here in Japan also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected how Japan sees its own defence. There already have been calls and debate has commenced on 'nuclear weapon sharing'. Japan has followed a police of the 'forbidden three' (three non-nuclear principles). No production, no possession, and no introduction. After almost 80 years since the end of WWII, Germany and Japan are now somewhat freed from the shackles of their past. In that respect, this is perhaps one relatively good outcome of Russia's aggression, although the proliferation of weapons, especially nuclear weapons and of course the invasion of Ukraine are far from being a good thing. It was however time to put the past in the past.

[@jonz23m]

If you mean with "shackles" killing millions of people then I would tell you no they should never be freed from their "shackles"

[@monsterclown4455]

This is great. As an EU citizen myself I believe the EU shouldn't be dependent in russian gass or american millitary. I only wish my home country would do the same.

[@0penminds]

700 million a day paid to Russia from EU nations, whilst you pat yourselves on the back for the sanctions that basically do very little when you're ignoring Russia's main income.

[@jaredgomora6506]

We want to leave nato too I agree on trump's comments we should leave EU and stop defending them let's see how fellow European countries are capable of without US support and shifts it's new focus on entirely on China's affairs and move all US bases weapons armored troops to Asian allies

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

@@0penminds No one is ignoring it, there's no alternative other than complete collapse of countries like Germany. Britain and France could sit it out but countries like Germany are completely reliant on Russia to function, it's going to take time to change that

[@Janoip]

@@jaredgomora6506 🤣 no more Drones and logistic from Germany, Eu. And the U.S. can no longer maintain its influence over Europe; the U.S. would not do so if it were not worthwhile for them.

[@celtspeaksgoth7251]

You can't be a citizen of a trade bloc. If your home nation rescinds your passport then you become stateless - you won't automatically be handed a passport from a neighbouring member state.

[@tommil7574]

The current situation where USA and Russia discusses how Europe should be divided must be fixed. We need to make it sure that we as Europe are one entity which decides on it's own destiny. I must admit that I didn't understand how skewed the situation is.

[@dominuslogik484]

NATO is the decision maker not the u.s. despite what you might think the u.s does not run Nato or completely own it.

[@brettlarsen6111]

Europe has been needing to get united for millenia. But, maybe this will finally be the time it actually happens

[@strife2746]

That's the whole problem. Europe is supposedly the most successful continent on the planet, but this continent is weak af. We really need to become a military superpower as well. Now is more of a time than ever to realise that not everything can be solved through dialogue and that some countries will never play nice. We need to be prepared for that and not with cookies and tea, but with jets and battle tanks.

[@whiteCourier]

Yeah, who should we choose? A defensive alliance or an aggressive pariah state that wants to violently annex its neighbors? Really hard choice indeed 🙄

[@fantafanta5983]

@@dominuslogik484 Yes but it is clearly the Leader and tries to make decisions that other members don't want or that have nothing to do with defence. Like it was mentioned in this video, when Joe Biden said that they will stop NorthStream 2. After that the Journalist asked him if this wouldn't be Germanys decision and he simply replied that they would be able to do it. And remember the German Chancellor was right next to Biden.

[@belabahn]

I as one who just moved from Hungary to Germany last autumn (and who's planning to get German citizenship as soon as possible), even the change of the political views (HUN vs. GER) has filled my heart with relief. I also like what Herr Scholz is doing considering energy dependence (imho a professionally operated modern nuclear powerplant on home soil is still better than depending on import from another country's supply); and also arming up the Bundeswehr is the right thing (kind of inevitable in the current situation). And these are just two things that Germany is doing better than Orbán back in Hungary.

[@Future183]

I wish you a good life in germany, good luck!!👍🇩🇪

[@belabahn]

@@Future183 Thank you! 😊

[@hovawartfreunde4599]

I wonder what is wrong with Hungary nowadays. Can you explain why they are so upset? Or do you think it was Putins influence like he and his oligarchs tried with Austria?

[@belabahn]

@@hovawartfreunde4599 The prices (rent, food, utilities, petrol, car costs) are West-European, the paychecks are Eastern. The country is drinking up the money sent by the EU like a sponge, however we only see Orbán's family and buddies getting richer by the hour. He's holding out his hands for funds, but on the other tray of the scale he's barking against almost all of the EU's rules and regulations. He's managed to get rid of the free press and Non-Hungarian Universities in the country. In most of the countryside you can only get (listen to) the state owned 3 radio and 5 TV channels. One can say he's building a dictatorship (he also changed the election law, making it harder to elect other than the currently ruling party). He's all about families making children, because „Hungary's population is declining”. But if you are childfree, childless or have 1 or 2 kids, then basically you're screwd, cause the full tax-exemption is only available if you have 3 or more kids. He doesn't wanna hear about the LMBTQ+ movement or same sex marriage. He managed to put into the constitution that „dad is a man and mom is a woman”, thus giving a kick in the butt to single parents or those same-sex couples who want to adopt orphans. I don't know what's his viewpoint now, but before I left, Brussels/ the EU, George Soros, and „the migrants” were the scapegoats, and Vladimir was his buddy-buddy (mainly because 58% of Hungary is dependent on russian gas). And there's the expansion of the nuclear powerplant („Paks II.”), but the expansion's public documents and the circumstances of the russian credit that Orbán's party had negotiated are under lock and key (marked as classified state secrets for the upcoming 30 years). And there are many more shenanigans like these, but we could be here for a month to list them all. Also, since his party has 2/3 in the Parliament he can push though every law that his or his party's sick mind can come up with. On the other hand: In Germany I do the same job /warehousing/ for 3 times the net money than back in Hungary. At the end of every month, after everything is paid for, I can still „put away” 1/3 to 1/4 of my net pay as „clean profit” instead of living paycheck to paycheck. The whole country is much more calm than Budapest and Hungary ever was (or will be). There's a vision-of-future here, therefore even in small steps but I can enhance my quality of life.

[@belabahn]

@@hovawartfreunde4599 Hungary does have (in some regions) newschannels like Euronews & BBC News, but you have to pay extra for it (if the cable provider is present in that county/ region). Also they have a few news-stands in larger cities (operated by the InMedio group) who are selling foreign newspapers (like Der Spiegel or Financial Times). But amongst those people who stayed, there are less and less who can understand English, German, Spanish or any foreign languages. Those who can read and write at a satisfactory level of any western or northern language, and aren't wearing orange sunshades (the color of Orbán's party), are steadily leaving Hungary to pursue a better life in other parts of the EU. Like you said ('30s in Germany) I also feel that Hungary is slowly crawling back into that „goulash-communism” status that had ruled in the country between '56 and 1990.

[@kevinboros7427]

These are great news. The only way I can see Europe coming back on the world stage is if we have a strong army to deter threats and we work together. Germany, as the strongest nation in Europe, should take the first steps, so that others may follow.

[@bctvanw]

Same as Japan from threats of North Korea, China, and Russia.

[@ramonantoniodejuanbennett6239]

Economically Germany is the strongest in Europe. Militarily it's France ,then UK, then Italy. But Germany has the potential to be a military beast. It needs to balance it's old Prussian military traditions with strong vibrant democracy and respect for law and never again allow totalitarian tyranny at all costs. Germany has all it needs to be militarily dominate without dictatorship. Peace thru strength, forever vigilant.

[@TheExplorder]

Netherlands is discussing bringing 1.85% of GDP back to military spending. With companies like Thales based in the Netherlands, this will bring a massive new player back to the world stage, ready to join with NATO members.

[@secularataturkist4674]

@@ramonantoniodejuanbennett6239 no, UK is strongest in Europe

[@vettemuziekjes]

germany is a US inflatable sexdoll, strongest nation LMAO !

[@maksimnikiforovski2034]

Europe needed a change yesterday! Make Europe green, clean, united, and democratic. Every corner of it, not just the West.

[@eluilus4017]

Or let people be.

[@Llortnerof]

So *that's* what Putin's big plan is. Gee, never would have taken him for an enviromentalist.

[@lphaetaamma291]

Putin invaded Ukraine, because it wanted to become democratic and he fears, that the democratic Wave swaps to russia and kills his power

[@maksimnikiforovski2034]

@@Llortnerof What has Putin anything to do with it?

[@МиколаРиндя]

and make it possible to defend itself, in case of something

[@badeboom]

Being German and living up in Cold War germany, I was always so proud of my land - a very unusual thing to do in here - for its rigidly pacifistic attitude. I can tell you, it feels absolutely surreal and horrible to realize that arming is the right thing to do now.

[@mikicerise6250]

Remember the tragedy of the Moriori. Be peaceful and magnanimous to those who reciprocate, and fierce to those who threaten violence.

[@jeremygibbs7342]

@badeboom I sympathize wholeheartedly, as a Canadian I was always proud of our peacekeeping force. We face a similar problem the intent for peace and prosperous trade we have overlooked the willingness of others to take what doesn't belong to them. I still have hope the world will get to a better place of peace and understanding. However, there's still work to do and we still need a military to protect ourselves from those who are not ready to benefit in mutual trade and friendship. One day we'll have a united earth voyager.

[@TC-db6yp]

or live as slaves. your choice

[@NodDisciple1]

"Talk softly and carry a big stick and you will go far."-Teddy Rooservelt. A expression he took from the Ethiopians.

[@markopodganjek845]

Arming for what? To go to war in Russia? You cant ho there, they will nuke you. So where you will go with this arms?

[@peagames2002]

I personally think it's time to leave the nazi fear behind. Germany people has suffered enough as it is of their ancestors mistake. It is about time to give them a chance to have their game buttons and keep their country defended.

[@ianwaghorne5327]

Totally modern Germany is not 1930s Germany.

[@vettemuziekjes]

that's right, germany should be allowed to finance azov nazi's and start another world war 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@ianwaghorne5327]

@@vettemuziekjes honestly get a grip and rejoin the 21st century.

[@peagames2002]

@@vettemuziekjes Oh look, it's a racist person blaming crimes on people who had no say in it, let alone were even born.

[@frankieseward8667]

@@ianwaghorne5327 indeed. The only reason why Nazi Germany even happened was because major powers wanted revenge.

[@copacelu93]

I'm all for it and I really hope Germany moves more towards nuclear power. Smaller, more automated and reliable plants, like in south Korea are a great addition in the fight against climate change and against the dependency on Russian gas

[@Llortnerof]

Nuclear fuel is still fuel that would need to be sourced from another country. Nuclear does not solve the problem this conflict highlighted.

[@jojotv9383]

Yes, all this anti-nuclear power stuff is really annoying.. they are such a good way to overcome the time between now and the future with only renewables (2050, like EU states). And those reactors do not blow much dangerous stuff in the atmosphere.. Using coal, oil and gas for energy production is MUCH much worse for the world. Sad.

[@Alche_mist]

@@Llortnerof The difference is in the energy density. It's really easy to stack up multiple years worth of nuclear fuel (solid pebbles that don't run anywhere) on-site, giving you enough security for the plant to remain operational. Storage of such is easy and well developed. You really can't do that with far less energy dense and gaseous natural gas that also tends to leak passively. Wind and solar, with their intermittency and even lower energy density, can't really fulfill the demands of the grid of a developed country, which Germany is. They are great as supporting plants, horrible for the main brunt. And when it comes to sourcing of the nuclear fuel (because even several years worth of stable load gets used up), while Kazakhstan (with the brutal revolution and nobody-knows what else happening there) is the greatest uranium exporter and the Russian company TVEL a large fuel producer, they are far from being a monopoly - Canada and Australia are also large exporters of the yellow cake and if not anything else, Westinghouse has nuclear fuel processing plant in Finland.

[@Llortnerof]

​@@Alche_mist All you're doing there is showing that it would again make it dependent on other countries. Admittedly, Canada would probably not be attacking much inbetween all the apologies, but it's also quite far away and i'm not so confident about the US. Australia is way over on the other side of the world. That's not much for security.

[@Alche_mist]

@@Llortnerof Well, if you want complete energy cycle absolutely independent of anyone, Germany (and Czechia, for that matter, too - I'm Czech) has exactly one "viable" option. Coal. Mehr Kohle. I'd totally go with relative stability of nuclear (If imports from regions as stable as Canada go down the drain for multiple years in a row, we have a different kind of problem.) over either Russian gas with all its disadvantages, now pronounced even more, or environmentally horrible coal.

[@xXChemikerXx]

me as a german, i deeply like this step! germany needs to be strong on the land, sea and air in the military and in the economy even more and the EU should be more selfsufficent

[@JustWilson]

Nice work Germany! I’m from the UK and can see it’s a no brainer re-arming Germany and changing their dealing agreements. This isn’t the 20th century anymore, we all want a united Europe under a free and democratic flag, or at least protection for our new values.

[@fabiansaerve]

Time to rejoin

[@solsunman383]

@@fabiansaerve I voted for Brexit. I would now support rejoining. The world has changed since 2016 and the reasons for leaving seem trivial now.

[@fabiansaerve]

@@solsunman383 they were always trivial lol no big and important benefits but many big disadvantages. The EU was created to be a United strong voice. You left and voted while knowing that. Nothing changed. You just woke up It’s not perfect but that’s why you have to vote for parties that do wanna change something instead of leaving which is absolutely no progression only the opposite

[@peterpan4038]

Who would have thought that Germans, French AND Brits can agree on anything, EVER. We really life in the darkest of all timelines. As a german i always thought Brexit was a dumb idea, and i still think that way. But it was and is nonetheless up to GB to decide in what direction GB wants to move. Meaning i have no say in GB politics, and that's how it should be. Germans certainly do a hell of a lot of things you deem stupid as well.

[@solsunman383]

@@fabiansaerve The world of today is not the world of 2016. We're talking pre-Trump and pre-populism. China was still a tentative western ally and the migration crisis and the fall-out of the Arab Spring were the big topics at the time. Leaving Europe didn't seem as stupid back then, as the world wasn't as dangerous a place. Or maybe it was just less obviously so. Either way, a Europe that, for all it's parliaments and politicians couldn't even balance the books or deal with flagrant corruption. Or so it appeared. What wasn't clear at the time was that we were also being lied to by many of our own politicians and even influenced by Russian backed media mis-information campaign. Not only that, but the remain campaign failed to promote many of the positives of being in the EU - free movement for British people, cultural exchange between European nations, breaking down of linguistic barriers, military security and economic support for impoverished areas. Like all Brexiteers, I share the blame for leaving the EU, but to imply that we were all idiots who needed to 'wake up', is forgetting that 2016 was a whole different world. Like many, I looked up what data was available and made an informed choice. Do I wish I had voted differently? Yes, of course I do, and if there was a referendum to rejoin, I would vote for joining in a heartbeat. I don't think I could have voted any differently in 2016 though. Sorry for the rant, I just get frustrated with the polarisation of politics and the idea that anyone who ever held a differing political view is some kind of imbecile.

[@JL-hz5li]

Putin is really a strategic genius, strengthening NATO in every way possible and recruiting new members for EU and NATO.

[@kingviper3444]

All cuz he didn't want ukraine to join NATO, and now almost every single neighbor has joined NATO

[@sarantis1995]

As a greek who identifies as European too, this strategy sounds in the right direction. If EU wants to be an actual player in the global scale we need to be more than the "good guys" and project power too, otherwise extremists from the outside will pose a serious threat to our internal safety. EUs survival and maybe even further integration , is requires strategic autonomy, which should come with the understanding that the outer borders are the EUs borders. We, at the southeast corner of the continent know ot for good

[@vorerstniemand]

Hello from the north, fellow European!

[@jakecy0]

@@Momoa786 brit here, the greeks played a larger role in ww2 than sweden or estonia did combined, so i dont know what your point is? Why are you trying to devalue the greeks? They are as much european as anyone else in europe

[@Devilflash100]

@@Momoa786 You know, that Germany has around 450.000 People with a migration background of Greece? And if you go to Greece during summer vacation...... Germans everywhere in Greece :)

[@Lorcan666]

Russia have shot themselves in the foot. Had they just stayed in the Dombass Europe would still be bickering with each other and slowly growing apart. Now they have strengthened both the EU and Nato

[@supercunthunt7756]

and made their biggest rivals in europe with germany and Nato increase spending to a level russia cant even dream of

[@jeckjeck3119]

@@supercunthunt7756 Putin miscalculated bigly!

[@svetliodoychinov5580]

Great thing as a European citizen I completely support this may Germany and France continue with this militarisation and my nation as well. I would honestly not be feeling safe otherwise in this times.

[@prinzeugenius7907]

no such thing as an European citizen, what are you even talking about

[@speedy01247]

@@prinzeugenius7907 times can change and people can tie themselves to new identities or have multiple identities, such as people in the US that both identify themselves as American and their ancestral ethnicity.

[@prinzeugenius7907]

@@speedy01247 dystopic indeed, our ancestors didn't die for this sick EU bureaucracy.

[@svetliodoychinov5580]

@@prinzeugenius7907 u have not heard of an eu passport?

[@prinzeugenius7907]

@@svetliodoychinov5580 what is this monstrosity you speak of

[@FloridaDeere]

As an American, I wanna say, it's about time. My ancestors were from Germany, so I am happy to see the Germans leading not just in economic terms now, but also militarily. I think we can and should put Germany's dark dozen years or so in the middle of the 20th century behind us and accept it's an entirely new world. I'm happy to see France and others seeing the need for additional defense spending. America needs to stay involved, but nothing close to the level we have been the last 30 years or even during the Cold War. We were a necessary and critical partner during the Cold War, but the Europeans are big boys, I think they can handle a lot more than most Americans give credit for. Just my $.02.

[@jenson1896]

🇩🇪😊❤🇺🇲

[@Ben-rd3mg]

It is undeniably brilliant that Europe is united against a common threat.

[@boomboy4102]

It is though undeniably not brilliant that there is a common threat

[@Ben-rd3mg]

@@boomboy4102 Of course

[@shak9616]

Didn't they just sanction poland and hungary ?

[@Ben-rd3mg]

@@shak9616 No? I think you’re talking about the legal action the commission made against Poland for having homophobic legislation. I think it also means unanimous votes by all member countries are no longer required just majority votes (which is tbh the only way a governing body can function)

[@shak9616]

@@Ben-rd3mg Yes, That's it my apologies. Given how much poland has done during this crisis I think it's unfair to withhold funds from them.

[@benji9870]

Closer European cooperation will mean a decline in the influence of the U.S.A., whose priorities are often not with Europe and more with Russia and China. This can only be a good thing.

[@VFPn96kQT]

@「 Deadpoppin 」Single unified army is more effective than dozens of different ones. For example, it can have much larger procurements than any individual one. Europe can't have a proper aircraft carriers fleet, because no single military can afford one, having large scale programs like "Future Combat Air System" would make more economic sense if all European countries would use instead of having several competing systems in different militaries.

[@jeckjeck3119]

@「 Deadpoppin 」 Uniting is the only way to be free from tyranny.

[@VFPn96kQT]

@「 Deadpoppin 」 "I'm wrong, but I don't care 😭". It's good that you're not in charge of EU policies.

[@GoodmanEldwin]

@@VFPn96kQT A single unified army is harder than you think, the EU is comprised of a ton of different languages and cultures. Meshing them together is difficult especially if commanders and soldiers cannot properly communicate with one another.

[@faelarie4726]

HAHAHAHAHA, if you think Europe's priorities are closer to tied to Russia or China. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you have no clue 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@CedricCaffa]

As a Dutch person I think it’s great Germany is rearming, now the rest of Europe should follow suit. Hopefully when can be fully independent of the rest of the world and start taking leadership ourselves.

[@theultimatefreak666]

I also hope the Dutch can take leadership

[@Kevin-xq2tv]

Nee nee gap wij gaan nog steedts schietgeluiden maken tijdens oefiningen😂

[@TheExplorder]

Netherlands is discussing bringing 1.85% of GDP back to military spending. With companies like Thales based in the Netherlands, this will bring a massive new player back to the world stage, ready to join with NATO members.

[@chriskalogrias926]

I am Greek and think we Greeks should focus on our economy since we are armed to the teeth for our size. Isn't it kinda interesting how the roles reverse? One bad neighbour with imperialistic views is enough to change your perspective, while we've been shouting about that since 20 years now.

[@DoomDutch]

I'm really glad with the direction Germany has taken. Always respected Merkel, but there were things I simply didn't agree with her. Now that the German Greens consider nuclear power again, and them agreeing with the NATO minimum of 2%, I hope the Netherlands can soon do the same.

[@herrputschy54]

nuclear power has already been rejected, again.

[@OhmeinGottVIIC]

@@herrputschy54 Yeah, it makes no sense economically. Modern facilities are more expensive than renewable energy plants, so there isn't any benefit to it from a scientific point of view.

[@DoomDutch]

​@@OhmeinGottVIIC There actually very much is: right now, the biggest problem with green electric energy production is the Duck Curve. During the day, when the sun is up, the most green energy is produced, and not a lot used on average. (Most is used during the afternoon/evening period.) Because green energy production is much lower in the night, other sources of power need to fill in to compensate. And right now, those are coal, gas, oil or nuclear powerplants that fill that gap. (For the most part.) It's much better to fill this gap with nuclear energy rather than the other alternative, since nuclear is *much* cleaner. (There's much more to it, but this is the short of it)

[@herrputschy54]

@@OhmeinGottVIIC and the Time needet to bring them up running

[@mortuos557]

those 100B are on top of the normal budget, not replacing it as your graphic suggests.

[@huldanoren951]

So the budget is now 147B?

[@mortuos557]

@@huldanoren951 i think the normal budget increased as well, but around 150B (too lazy to google rn xD)

[@deneb_tm]

@@huldanoren951 Far as I understand it, around €150B for 2022, and from then on likely €70-80B.

[@TheZett]

@@huldanoren951 For 2022 it got a one time bonus of 100 thousand millions, and as of next year it will only be 2% of the GDP (around 75 thousand millions).

[@parrotconservative]

I like this Olaf guy he seems to be doing a good job in modernizing the military in Germany and making wise choices

[@marshalbali]

It has changed Europe and the world forever

[@eluilus4017]

🇺🇦🤮

[@marshalbali]

@@eluilus4017 Why ?

[@jaredgomora6506]

@@eluilus4017 🇷🇺📉🤣

[@whiteCourier]

@@marshalbali The account is two months old account and only comments russian propaganda. Just a kremlin troll 🥱

[@marshalbali]

@@whiteCourier true

[@bittersweet7145]

I always liked the idea of a fully integrated European Union including a European army and federal government. I think Europe, while it still has many flaws, is in my opinion the best of the bad bunch of power blocs on the global stage. I would like for us to have the clout to assert independence from US policy where we see fit ... Ugh I keep saying us like Brexit never happened 😔

[@goli8699]

Every Great Power has it's flaws. The US only has two Parties, resulting in a Lack of political flexibility. Russia and China have evolved Into almost dictatorships, with China probably being the worse of the two. And Europe is at constant disagreement with itself If there isn't some external Threat reminding them that they have Common interests and has become increasingly reliant on the US Millitarily. But yeah I definitely agree with Europe seeming Like the best of the bunch, though I May be a Bit biased given that I'm Austrian.

[@Llortnerof]

The European Union: Voted least terrible place to live in for the 10th year in a row! I'd say Brexit in and of itself already increased independence from the US, though. Trump helped, too.

[@jamesart6568]

@@goli8699 The EU or Europe you mean?

[@0penminds]

@@jamesart6568 Europeans in the the Eu struggle to realise they don't have control over all of Europe, they just plan to have all of Europe. They really don't know what they are asking for with a Federal State.

[@Juho221]

@@jamesart6568 It's like when you say the US and America

[@SheppardOfNumenor]

As a North American (Canadian) I say Germany choosing to beef up their military, shifting their energy plan (adopting Nuclear policies), and slowly moving toward a European Autonomous Strategy is a great move! 👏👏👏

[@tobiwan001]

Ditching nord stream 2 in case of an invasion had already been a certainty. The project was heavy under fire in Germany even before the war.

[@patrickstar5136]

I mostly agree with what the greens said before the election. what we need is a more effective Bundeswehr not one that simply burns more money. The main problems for our bad military is structural and as long as those structural problems aren't fixed all the money in the world isn't gonna help.

[@maxrichter3098]

Natürlich ist es richtig. Wir (Europa unter deutscher Führung) müssen autark und in der Lage sein, uns selbst zu verteidigen. Scholz ist erst vor kurzem unser Kanzler geworden, aber er hat bereits einen guten Eindruck auf mich gelassen und hat auch bisschen frischen Wind in die Politik gebracht

[@TheRezro]

Yes, and we do see it on example of Russia

[@Amalung54]

OK, tell me, did you watch the Hollywood movie "300" too often or do you own a degree as 'bar-room strategist'? Following your strange reasoning, one might assume that Germany lost two world wars, despite having millions of soldiers in both wars, only because its armed forces of the time spent too much effort on administration, and not because Germany faced superior armies in terms of personnel and material with almost unlimited resources. Of course, the reform of the armed forces must also include the administration, but ultimately the number of soldiers, the equipment with weapons and ammunition and, last but not least, sound training and armed forces kept in constant exercise determine whether a military conflict can be endured, or whether better could be avoid right now. Troop strength, equipment, support and training must be adapted to the respective threat situation and as far as the Federal Republic of Germany is concerned, we have been living in a fantasy land since reunification and are now being confronted with the harsh reality. No, the world is not peaceful. By the way, whether you can and should negotiate, talk or how to deal with the mass murderer Putin becomes brutally clear when you replace the name 'Putin' with 'Hitler'. Both are basically the same caliber. Say, would you also have negotiated, spoken and dealed with Hitler? Today I feel like a frightened Czech after the Munich Agreement of 1938. Whoever shies away from war has already lost the conflict one would like to avoid. Instead we shouldn't forget this lesson, even if a military conflict with Russia would be a disaster. Lest not forget, Putin has probably read Sunzi, Machiavelli and Clausewitz and surely understood them too....

[@patrickstar5136]

@@Amalung54 I'm not gonna read all of that rant but as you said "Equipment, ammo and weapons are what decide the military capabilities." Germanys administative structures for getting those exact things are so beyond f*cked that our soliders regularly have to borrow equipment from other contries soliders during Nato exercises. And you can't tell me that the 50 billion we spend every year before were not enough to buy warm clothes for night exercises for the not even 200thousand soliders of the bundeswehr. Tldr Of course equipment decides the strengh of an army but if you can't get equipment because of complicated structures rather than lack of money, just throwing money at the problem won't solve it

[@thomasparkin259]

The Germany of today is not the Grrmany of the past, they are wonderful thoughtful people who have overcome the past I think. They should be able to rearm without fear from their neighbours.

[@hsdte95]

There are two errors in the video. The 100 billion are on top of the regular defense budget, they are not the new budget. And the 100 billion are not getting written into the constitution, the higher defense spending of 2% of the GDP will get there.

[@pacodado1944]

Yes, very important. Maybe TLDR could correct that somewhere?

[@caligo7918]

I have friends in the Bundeswehr and most of them are happy, that they finally get their basic equipment, like bulletproof vests and winter clothes. But they are also afraid, that the beaurocracy of the Bundeswehr will eat too much of the money and take to long to make decisions.

[@xendariox2516]

As a German, I really love the idea of a strong Europe that is working more closer together to become even stronger :D^^

[@versuch8239]

"Most commentators read this to mean..." Yeah, most commentators still seem to have no clue about Teflon Olaf. Him not stating certain sanctions doesn't mean he isn't willing to do them, he is just not showing his hand to the press. He sometimes is like a football coach who only critizises his players in inner team meeting and feeds the press with fluff. Edit: Also, he said the spending would be at least 2 % and more. I think our spending during the cold war was close to 3%? Another edit: And again the Green part is way too short, foreign media never seems to get it right on them. They have been in government during war time before, so the pacifist thing was of the past already. Plus, their leaders during the election and now ministers were centrist candidates. Plus they, especially Baerbock, are the hardest on Russia and China in our parliament. Plus, Habeck already proposed sending Ukraine defensive weapons several months back.

[@Micsmit_45]

I'd say that the greens are not centrist strictly speaking, but rather centre-left. Other than that you've pretty much hit the nail on the head (even if Scholz's behaviour is a little frustrating at times)

[@prinzeugenius7907]

yeah and Habeck was bullied into submission and retraction of this idea by the party, based on ultra-leftism and pacifism as it is very much still the dominant ideology of the green party and the media conglomerate pushing it

[@English_Dawn]

Yes I think Baerbock is a light green. Green but realistic. Feel sorry for Teflon Olaf, Frau Merkel left him in an untenable position. Don't want to be too hard on Frau Merkel. Really helped the Brexiteers the way she treated David Cameron when Prime Minister. Made their job a lot easier. Tschuss!

[@kaddy0306]

I dont know what bullshit you are speaking. I have never seen him critizising others from his colleagues, lie number 1. And why do you even mention what was spend in the cold war??? That is he past, imagine we dont live in it! Welcome to 2022, Versuch. You mention much, but you have zero arguments or own ideas behind it. Your comment makes no sense.

[@Micsmit_45]

@@English_Dawn Bearbock and realistic? Did you see another Bearbock than I did?

[@harrybarrow6222]

I am very happy that Germany and France are working together to strengthen the EU and European defence. I think it is a tragedy that the British public foolishly and short-sightedly voted to leave the EU. Fortunately, we are still in NATO. Since then, some evidence has emerged that Russia interfered in the debate and the vote…

[@Mr__Singularity]

EU with strong army will probably leave US lead NATO...

[@cartmann227]

@@Mr__Singularity no dependencies!

[@elvisstergjiu2089]

No it wont

[@attilaabonyi8879]

I am proud to be a european right now, God bless europe and that we will cooparate much stronger, it honestly makes me cry in joy😢

[@Ferruccio001]

A stronger Europe is not just the best, but the ONLY possible way forward. Unite EUROPE!

[@eluilus4017]

Or demolish EU

[@calibvr]

Unite Europe under a nation with no foreigners preferably, I'd like death to the EU if that continues. Sincerely, a Corkonian

[@lphaetaamma291]

@@eluilus4017 what alternative to the EU do you propose? Do you want small states that can be tanken down by russia one by one or even attack each other, like in the centurys before?

[@coderentity2079]

@@lphaetaamma291 V4

[@0penminds]

@@lphaetaamma291 Do you see Russia attacking any alliances? Or just an isolated country on it's border, and making a mess of that....

[@ByTheGrace0fGod]

Germany having a similar military to France would indeed make Europe way stronger than it currently is, which is something that any European would welcome. Deep cooperation between France, Italy and Germany would arguably make Europe independent and deter any potential aggression. I guess the US won't be too happy about that, they would lose some of their influence over Europe. But I believe that's the right thing to do.

[@megakaren2160]

As an American, we'll have more resources to allocate on our own problems here at home. It could be better for us, too. I can't say if the idiots in Washington share the same sentiment, though.

[@shittymcrvids3119]

Agreed

[@iamaloafofbread8926]

Why would the U.S. not be happy that someone else can baby sit Europe?

[@ByTheGrace0fGod]

@@iamaloafofbread8926 Because they couldn't sell as many F-35 to Europeans. The US are not selling an aircraft, but a shield.

[@peterpan4038]

The influence the US has in Europe is mainly based on their sheer wealth/ economy. US troops in Europe are simple an extension of that, aka no matter what will happen in the coming years the US will keep a VERY strong influence in Eu politics. For the longest time US troops in Europe already shifted their main purpose from "don't even try it, Russia" to "it's nice to have logistics and troops close to the middle east".

[@PeachDragon_]

As an Italian. I think we should do the same and prepare to fight alongside our European brothers.

[@egal1780]

4:14 it would rather include getting the military up to date. I mean, it literally lacks the most basic stuff, like warm underwear and walkie-talkies for everybody.

[@arcticdragon104]

What you need the most is soldiers willing to fight a long war against Russia. Everything else is no. 2. Do you have soldiers like this?

[@egal1780]

@@arcticdragon104 Yeah and the soldiers can Fight with Non functionimg weapons and a few bullets that will all be used Up after Just a Few days.

[@egal1780]

@@arcticdragon104 Yeah and the soldiers can Fight with Non functionimg weapons and a few bullets that will all be used Up after Just a Few days.

[@glichjthebicycle384]

As a German and as someone that was always a bit icky about the German way of doing politics, which was mostly paying others German tax-payer money and sticking to conservative at times irrational policies and never really stepping up to the leadership role of the most important country in Europe, this entire government change in Germany is extremely welcome. Finally, a breath of fresh air and people with a vision. A bit less restrained way of thinking about everything. Starting with cannabis legalization, with a stricter policy about who gets money in the EU. Finally, acknowledging the importance of nuclear energy, of which the opposite was unfortunately burned into the heads of many people in the 80s when Chernobyl happened. Finally, people can look at statistics and draw a logical conclusion. I shed a tear when I heard about this change in policy. This is so welcome. Finally, the thoughts of the next generation are in politics. Much needed in this modern day and age. China is glooming on the horizon of cyberwar and global dominance and, given climatechange, we have a certain responsibility in Germany. Politics should reflect that and it finally does.

[@robertthornton5106]

Thinking of yourselves as 'the most important country in Europe' is probably where things keep going wrong...

[@MaxMustermann-ze1iv]

@@robertthornton5106 we Germans think statistically so by "most important" country in Europe this guy means numbers not culture or so. Ask a random German on the street a lot will tell you Germay is a bad and inferior country. Self-hate and guilt-culture is still very big here

[@glichjthebicycle384]

@@robertthornton5106 Germany IS the most important country in europe lol. Go on google and search for "most important country in europe". Who would have thought. You find Germany.

[@marcodoe4690]

@@MaxMustermann-ze1iv mostly because we're taught and reminded of the past atrocities. And if you dare to tell it that way, you're automatically a nazi. Being slightly more right than the extreme left wingers is condemned. Some of my friends even said that the CDU is right wing, even though they have politicially adapted to the left under merkel's rule.

[@maxrichter3098]

Natürlich ist es richtig. Wir (Europa unter deutscher Führung) müssen autark und in der Lage sein, uns selbst zu verteidigen. Scholz ist erst vor kurzem unser Kanzler geworden, aber er hat bereits einen guten Eindruck auf mich gelassen und hat auch bisschen frischen Wind in die Politik gebracht

[@chaospatriot76]

Never thought I'd say this, but "Go Germany!"

[@chaospatriot76]

@@sahara4555 Because every time my country and their country were in the same war, we were usually on opposite sides

[@shouryasanjeev9284]

Everybody gangsta till the Chancellor rearms Germany. Tis but a joke.

[@TotallyNotAFox]

*Banned from SWIFT Putin" "Russia is strong enough to survive this" *Germany rearms the forces "Why do I hear boss music? (Prussia's Glory)"

[@Timmie1995]

I thought Biden's remark at 2:56 was pretty shocking. It seemed like a throwback to the 90s and early 00s, by implying: "if we want it, Europe will follow whether they want it or not"

[@Kyrkby]

He's not wrong though, most of NATO relies on the US for... well, everything. And since they have the most influence on.... well, again, everything, if the US wants something really bad the rest of the alliance kind of have to get behind them for better or worse. It's a shitty behaviour but I think he's also saying that for the domestic population, to appear tough and all that. And Nord Stream 2 should never have been approved, ever. To make yourself reliant on a dictatorship such as Russia is a bad idea.

[@Camelotsmoon]

Well, based on Germany's massive actions within the past few weeks it's entirely possible Germany wanted to say the exact same thing but couldn't, and the US can say anything they like about it since they're not over there, so Germany could let the US speak about what would happen to the pipeline and kinda hide behind them for plausible deniability if nothing ended up happening.

[@Timmie1995]

@@Kyrkby What you say is all absolutely true, but to me it's the way he says it. A pipeline is not primarily a military thing, even though it'd become incredibly political. Against the backdrop of an EU wanting more autonomy, the timing is odd to me.

[@Kyrkby]

@@Timmie1995 Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, as someone from Europe it sounds pretty arrogant and it doesn't send very good signals. We're not vassals, we're allies and share a common goal. No need to be a dick about it.

[@bobincognito6239]

We can criticize as much as we want Germany, but when something has to be done, they do it right. From the most passive country in Europe, they became the most active one... In less than a month.

[@alex7606]

The Scholz - Macron era could possibly be the most prosperous era of Europe we have seen in a while. It all depends tho on how the EU handles whatever comes after the Ukraine war and how the pandemic is gonna turn out over 2022

[@kasiaobrochta7223]

Disagree, two clowns

[@priceringo1756]

As an American, I applaud Germany's changes. However I am disgusted with our American media. I have been following the conflict closely yet have not seen Germany's changes being talked about - at all. I am being manipulated and I hate them.

[@mlem97]

Maybe you already know them, but I can recommend the german DW news, they do a good job in my opinion. Maybe they give you some better insights into European politics in general if you are interested. They usually report in english and cover topics from whole europe :)

[@zaydalaoui9397]

It's not manipulation, it's just that the USA school and media talk and teach about the US and US only, so you're never aware about what's happening outside the USA unless it directly impacts you. 2 of my sisters live in DC and I'm always amazed how ignorant they are about what's happening in Europe, China, etc. I even know more about what's happening in the USA than they know...

[@juliane__]

Very good development of the speaker's voice! Thumbs up!

[@venkatadurvasula6379]

I love how Germany always does a 180 degree turn

[@glassychap1141]

As a history buff, I actually really enjoy late 19th century and early 20th century German history, particularly in WW1. I know Germany is still a little reserved about itself due to the past 100 years, but if they truly have learned from their mistakes it is unlikely they will make them again. Germany also has a long military tradition dating to the time of the Roman Empire. I pray that Germany bring good out of this horrible situation. 🇺🇸🇩🇪

[@thekaiser4333]

Yes, we have learned from our mistakes. Next time we invade Poland, we will wait for summer before we attack Russia.

[@ivan-Croatian]

Croatia also bought 12 Rafales and 80 armored vehiacles from US. We went way over the 2% of the GDP.

[@GTRS-qh4mw]

Hey I am from Germany 🇩🇪 and you are off on some informations the 100 B € is just an extra to boost it can be used over several years and is added to the Normal Military spendings which was 47 B € and is going to be now over the 2% Nato Standard around 77 B €. So they wanna spend a total of 177 B € what is about 198 B $. So Germany will spend the 3. largest amount on Military worldwide. The German Bundeswehr is a shame right now, We need 20 B € only to fuel up the ammunition. But its good to hear they finally take action.

[@RileyStClair-np5ez]

The protest in Berlin with 100k people made a big change for Germany. The people spoke

[@prawojazdy858]

for some reason though scholz is back to talking about diplomacy

[@LMB222]

Berliners spoke. Rest of Germany sees them as hippies.

[@tutzdesYT]

@@LMB222 the people of Ukraine saw protesters on Kyiv's Maidan as hippies. Then democratically elected president was overthrown, civil war started, Crimea was lost and all that pawed the way to current situation. Democracy is born by the will of the people. Democracy dies by the screams of the crowd.

[@МиколаРиндя]

@@tutzdesYT kremlin bot detected, your salary in exchange for dollars already split by twice

[@goli8699]

@@prawojazdy858 Obviously, While preparing for a possible conflict is good, even after having prepared for it, you should still try to avoid unneccesary Suffering through diplomacy

[@amanwearingsuspenders7390]

This is absolutely wonderful. The EU is finally working coordinately and emancipating itself from Nato and America while also still keeping them as close allies, rightfully so.

[@XLTBlarg]

A United States of Europe! Individually your countries are tiny like US states, but together you guys are a global force to be reckoned with. One alot more responsible than the US.

[@royalone437]

for those who didn't understand yet, there will be an increase of the german payment on military to 2.2% of full expanses of the country per year. Also the Bundeswehr will get a one time extra payment of 100 BN € this year. I think that other countries in the EU and Nato will follow the 2% expanses goal of the Nato too. Which just means the EU will become more independent from the USA in terms of military.

[@TheRezro]

Except Poland which repeat "I told you so"

[@fernandoamy8278]

If you truly want to be independent of the USA, its not enough just to spend more on defense. You have to be willing to put your troops in harms way, when necessary, and except all the responsibilities, and difficulties, that follow. if you want to lead, that's what it takes. Talk is cheap.

[@zaydalaoui9397]

Finally, I'm just amazed when I think that in the whole EU until today, the only acceptable army that can do some shit if attacked was France and to some degree Italy especially after the UK left. It's time Germany and other countries step in, even though in the case of Germany, demilitarization was somewhat a WWII decision and some people don't want to see a German military. I'd like to think that it's far behind us and that current Germany is different.

[@leion247]

I'm glad SOMETHING finally changed their opinion on nuclear power. The giant price hike of energy and this finally show that you can't fully rely on continuing fossil fuels during the transition to green energy or as a baseline power either. Here's to hoping they invest in Thorium power as well.

[@alexandrurontu1682]

As a Romanian, i salute their decisions, it was time to step up. Hope this dark times will scrystallize EU and wil bring more trust within all members and shut some of the extremists. We can be a future world power!

[@kh7736]

L comment

[@sandiz83]

I agree that the EU should have a common defense policy. To me, the EU is a league of free democratic countries. we should therefore stand up for each other. which we should be able to do without being part of NATO.

[@rhumandlove393]

A new coalition will have the same effect on Russia as NATO. In other words, Russia's going to try to not allow you to do it. Aside, perhaps from the already NATO aligned nations

[@7Hellzz]

I'm so proud of the german people for increasing their military budget . It was about time. Glory to Deutschland !

[@philipkoene5345]

As a German - sorry, but no. We don't want or need any Glory. Just peace and prosperity.

[@haven_lady675]

It's Germany's time to shine and to not be the bad guy for once. Redemption arc.

[@seanlander9321]

Germany can also redeem that by paying its debts. For a change.

[@dadikkedude]

Could you do a video of just how powerful the European Union already is? There's this narrative that Europe needs to be stronger and that implies that it isn't already, but I highly doubt that the European Union is weak militarily, politically, economically and even on the world stage. Im sure it can be alot better. But where is this narrative coming from and is there even any merit to it?

[@_d--]

@MkkTO mind you that last joint exercises with US troops saw our boys feeding dust to our american friends. :D For example during a seek and hide exercise the Italians were able to encircle and cut off the US HQ at breakfast time 🤣.

[@Maitch3000]

There is a perception that the EU is weak, but it really not. Its population is larger than the US and the GDP is almost as big as the US. The difference is that the EU seems timid on the global scale. There is no president making grand speeches

[@pacodado1944]

It comes from people that are keen on increasing military spending. Which is working great for them, as we can see here

[@someguycalledcerberus9805]

The collective of countries making up the EU is strong and could mobilise to become a superpower. However, since there is no central government tying them together they do not function as a singular power.

[@starwarzchik112]

“I fear all that we have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve.” -Sergei Lavrov, probably

[@robmiller1964]

This is overdue, I am so pleased that Germany has finally come out; Gerrmany has finally got rit of its OGrown UP! My Dad fought the Italians, Germans and Titos forces in WW2 fighting for New Zealand..... Cutting a long story short he caught up with his German Foe at their club in Munich in 1981, my dad represented the 20th Battalion of the NZEF who had fought the Fallschirmjager in Crete and then in Monte Cassino. Anyway the Jerries put my parents and there old foe on such a fuss.... basically it was why the hell are we shooting at you as you look like us; 2 arms, 2 legs, one head.....such a silly time war. and yes we were mainly Anglo Saxons! So great to see Germany back and Germany with a Spine! Germany and France togethers along with Poland

[@scratchy996]

Their politicians need to stop being reactive, grow some balls and start being proactive. Maybe the younger politicians take notice.

[@EdgelordOfEdginess]

Being proactive is not a good trait for a diplomat

[@f.a.6975]

where are you from?

[@TheAiskie]

Just to be clear about some stuff. The 100bn € is supposed to be a one-time investment to get the Bundeswehr operational, which a lot of sources argue it currently isn't. The most notable increase is the pledge to increase the yearly budget to NATO standard or above which would account to a yearly increase of about 25bn € or more.

[@jenson1896]

As a German I just want to get some things straight. The western entire world wants us to: - Build up a huge Army - March through Poland - Fight Russia if needed Just writing it down, so there is no misunderstanding in the future.

[@mohammedriadh4990]

Is taking back pre ww2 territory from Poland part of the plan?

[@jenson1896]

@@mohammedriadh4990 Well Kaliningrad would be cool!

[@peterjeffery8495]

"Putin's a GENIUS!". The list of unintended consequences for Russia is staggering. Putin's foray into Ukraine has an enormous upside for world peace. The Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet empire collapsed for 1 basic reason, money. Reagan year over year simply kept outspending the USSR who couldn't maintain the level of expenditures on military hardware to maintain a balance of power. Germany rearming and recommitting to NATO and a new alliance beyond NATO is a disaster for Putin.

[@kida4313]

Small correction, the newly developed fighters will most likely not fall under the nuclear sharing agreement, since American F-35s will be purchased for this purpose to replace the aging Tornados.

[@keeganfreiheit3252]

By no means am I a German citizen, but from an outside perspective all of this makes sense and should have been done a while ago. It seems like the right step to do going forward because I believe the old very pacifist ways were in ways hurting Germany’s image on the global stage.

[@angeluscorpius]

Whilst it is important to learn from history and to stay true to one's ideology, it is also important to see the situation for what it is and the dangers it present and not to be blinkered by ideology, idealism, wishful thinking, and irrational optimism. I applaud the Germans for responding to a perceived threat with alacrity and decisively. Was this a measured response or a fearful, impulsive reaction? Only the Germans and history can tell in time to come. But Putin has, in one irrational and ill-advised move showed the world that peace is indeed a fragile thing. The developed world has grown accustomed to civilised discourse and normative peace. The "War to end all wars" and its sequel's lesson seemed to have taken root in civilised society, and we have become habituated to peace. War in civilised Europe has been unthinkable. Until the unthinkable happened. And then we have to learn once again, si vis pacem para bellum. The responsibility for peace, for preparing for war, lies with each country. No one else can be responsible. Ukraine is showing that responsibility, and paying a heavy price for that lesson. Germany is looking at that lesson and rightfully thinking, "there but for the grace of God, goes I."

[@harvbegal6868]

Never thought I'd see the day when Germany announces that it's rearming and the free world cheers. But times do change.

[@0ShadowG0]

I did one an definitely in support of stronger cooperation and self sufficiency of the EU. A big thing for the future imo should also be electronics.

[@Donald_the_Potholer]

For some reason, Scholz's reversal reminds me of W's sudden hawkishness in the wake of 9/11. W's behavior in the Hainan incident in 5 months prior seemed measured at the time, let alone when he declared the "war on terror". Not saying that Scholz is wrong; just that he's adapting to unforseen circumstances in a similar (yet logical) way.

[@fedoralexandersteeman6672]

As a side note: I had no idea there were multiple narrators... Your voices are so much alike!

[@Chris-ss8zt]

I do agree as a German, too. We should gain more independence from any allies.

[@philipb2134]

Germany lived under an understandable cringe for a lifetime after WWII. But Germany is Europe's biggest economy, and was shy to adopt a stance of principled force. Putin changed that permanently, and he might come to regret what he provoked.

[@TheHollandHS]

Everyone : yay germany is going to save us 🥰 Poland:

[@jenson1896]

Sad poland noises

[@bengoacher4455]

We had a pandemic, the Russians are reforming the USSR, Germany is rearming, its all coming together

[@bhatkrishnakishor]

Déjà vu?

[@TheRezro]

Neh, Russia is Forth Reich. Germany doesn't really go above "standard obligation"

[@goodisgood153]

Man this ironic return of history sucks