Call for expansion of German military operations

Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble told the Funke media group of regional newspapers on Friday that Germany needed to take more responsibility in military affairs with its allies.

“We can’t hide. If Europe is to play a stronger role, then we must play our part,” Schäuble said. “We cannot leave everything to the French and the Americans.”

The veteran lawmaker and long-time minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinets said he supported German Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s plans to streamline the Bundeswehr and boost defense spending to reach NATO’s target of 2% of GDP.

“When France asks us to do more about the security situation in Mali, our responses do not trigger enthusiasm in Paris,” Schäuble said. “The lessons from Auschwitz cannot be an argument for not taking on a permanent commitment.”

Schäuble recognized that expanding Bundeswehr missions could have a “moral cost.” However, Germany “cannot, in any case, continue to pass on the moral costs to others.”

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