The central issue in the Federal Chancellor’s speech was how to achieve a just and lasting peace to put an end to the war in Ukraine. The Federal Chancellor stressed that “defending freedom and democracy against adversaries has always been the link connecting us as partners in the transatlantic community, and it is what brings us together here today in Munich”. In his speech, Scholz reaffirmed the need for defence expenditure to continue to rise significantly in order to shore up peace and security in Europe. Enhancing European capabilities would also ease the burden on the US and strengthen the transatlantic alliance overall, Scholz said. 

Key points from the Federal Chancellor’s speech:

• War in Ukraine: Everyone’s objective was to maintain Ukraine’s sovereign independence, the Federal Chancellor said. The war in Ukraine had to end as soon as possible and Ukraine had to be involved in negotiations, as there could be no discussion “about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Scholz said. Dictating terms could not bring about a just and lasting peace, as that would only benefit Russia. Resolving the conflict in Ukraine must not be allowed to lead to decoupling of European and American security. Europe would maintain its support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.
• European defence and security: The Federal Chancellor underlined the importance of establishing and maintaining key technologies needed for our security in Europe. “We must also ensure we have a strong European defence industry with permanent, Europe-based production of the most important types of munitions and weapons,” he said. The European arms industry must be further strengthened and interconnected with US partners. A significantly stronger Europe would also strengthen NATO overall. 
• European defence spending: The Federal Chancellor stressed the need for European defence expenditure to rise significantly, “not only to ensure that Europe becomes and remains an ally on an equal footing with the United States, but also to ensure that we Europeans can continue to live in peace”. On the level of the EU, the Stability and Growth Pact must be revised to create an exception for investments in defence goods that lie above the existing 2 percent NATO target.

Watch the Federal Chancellor’s speech:

Read a translation of the full text of the speech here:

Mr Heusgen,

Ms Beddoes,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A mere 20 kilometres separates this conference venue from the National Socialist concentration camp in Dachau. Dachau is one of the places where the most unimaginable crimes against humanity were perpetrated – by Germans and in Germany’s name. Two days ago, the United States Vice President visited Dachau, and afterwards he said something very important. The memorial shows us, he said, why we must ensure that – and I quote – what happened here should never happen again. I am most grateful to Vice Present Vance for this important statement.

Because ‘never again’ is the key lesson that we Germans have drawn, following the Second World War, from the horrific experience of the National Socialists’ reign of terror – drawn, I must say as well, thanks to a lot of support from the United States. This ‘never again’ is the historic duty that Germany as a liberal democracy must and wants to live up to, every single day. Never again should there be fascism; never again racism; never again a war of aggression.

That is why the overwhelming majority of people in our country wholeheartedly opposes those who seek to glorify or justify the crimes of National Socialism. The AfD party has members who make light of National Socialism and its monstrous crimes, crimes against humanity like those committed in Dachau, by referring to them as “mere bird poo” in the course of Germany’s history. There can therefore be no reconciling a commitment to ‘never again’ with support for the AfD.

That is why we will not accept outside observers acting on behalf of this party, interfering with our democracy and our elections and influencing the democratic formation of opinions. That is bad manners – especially among friends and allies. We strongly reject such behaviour. We ourselves will decide the future course of our democracy.

In our present-day democracy in Germany and in Europe, the conclusion we draw from our history is that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats. It is for this reason that we created institutions to make our democracies robust enough to withstand enemy attacks, as well as rules that do not restrict, but rather protect, our freedom.

Defending freedom and democracy against adversaries has always been the link connecting us as partners in the transatlantic community, and it is what brings us together here today in Munich. As supporters of freedom and democracy, we stand by the side of Ukraine, which has been attacked. I am therefore very happy that the US Administration has reaffirmed our shared objective of maintaining Ukraine’s sovereign independence. This sovereign independence must also be reflected in negotiations. This is what we mean when we say: Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

Holding direct talks with Russia, with the involvement of Ukraine, is the right thing to do. I, too, have repeatedly spoken with the Russian President to make clear to him that we expect a just peace to be brought about in Ukraine, and to tell him what this means for us. We all surely agree that Russia’s war against Ukraine must end – as soon as possible. Hundreds of thousands have been killed or injured; millions have been displaced. What unspeakable suffering.

Then there is Putin’s increasing escalation and globalisation of the conflict: Iranian drones, soldiers and weapons from North Korea, mercenaries from Yemen. This escalation includes Russia’s dangerous actions targeting states of the transatlantic Alliance, actions such as the sabotaging of undersea cables and other infrastructure, arson attacks, spreading disinformation and attempts to manipulate democratic elections.

After three years of war, it is still our conviction that anyone who wants to move borders through the use of force is aiming to destroy our peace order. Borders must not be moved through the use of force. This principle must be applied universally and at all times, and it must be respected by everyone. Victory by Russia or a collapse of Ukraine would therefore not create peace, but rather further endanger peace and stability, in Europe and beyond. Peace can only be attained if Ukraine’s sovereignty is secured. We will therefore never support a peace that is dictated. Nor will we support a solution that leads to the decoupling of European and American security. Only one person would stand to benefit from this, namely President Putin.

We Europeans will, with self-confidence and determination, represent these interests in the upcoming negotiations. We Europeans are the strongest supporters of Ukraine – and we will maintain our support for as long as it takes.

And it must be said that this commitment to ‘as long as it takes’ will not end when the fighting stops. At the end of any negotiated solution, Ukraine must have armed forces that enable it to defend against any new attack by Russia. This will be a tremendous challenge, in terms of financial resources, materiel and logistics. For the foreseeable future, Ukraine will not be able to face up to this task alone. That is why the support of us Europeans, together with that of Ukraine’s transatlantic and international partners, will continue to be needed, just as we have borne great burdens together up to now.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States and Germany are by far the biggest supporters of Ukraine. In terms of pure volume, the US leads. However, measured by the size of the national economy, Germany’s support is four times that of the United States. This is effective burden sharing among NATO allies and friends. We want this burden sharing to continue. This is also the purpose behind the G7 line of credit in the amount of 50 billion dollars.

We in Germany are in a position to maintain our current high level of support for Ukraine. The debt brake that is enshrined in Germany’s Basic Law allows for exceptions to be made in emergency situations. A war in the heart of Europe is an emergency situation. What else could it possibly be? I am certain that, after the upcoming elections, this will have majority support in the German Bundestag, although some currently prefer not having to answer this question ahead of the elections.

Also, it is incontestable that our defence expenditure must continue to rise significantly. Not only to ensure that Europe becomes and remains an ally on an equal footing with the United States, but also to ensure that we Europeans can continue to live in peace. Our yardstick must be the threat we face from Russia and making sure that we meet all of the NATO capability targets that have been set in this regard. For me, it was always clear that the special fund amounting to 100 billion euro that we established for the Bundeswehr as part of the realignment after the Zeitenwende was only a first step. Just for the purpose of meeting and maintaining the two-percent target that has been set out by NATO, we will need to spend an additional 30 billion euro as of 2028. Every further percent in defence spending on top of this will, according to current calculations, require an additional 43 billion euro per year.

These are huge amounts. By the end of this decade, we are talking about several hundreds of billions. Anyone who says such funds could be raised by cutting small amounts here or there in our current budget is not telling our citizens the truth. That is why, immediately after the upcoming national elections, we must reform the debt brake in our Basic Law by excluding investments in our security and defence from this instrument. My prediction is that for this, too, we will have a parliamentary majority after the elections.

These national efforts must be integrated into efforts to strengthen European capabilities. This expressly includes maintaining and establishing in Europe the key technologies that we need for our security. We must also ensure we have a strong European defence industry with permanent, Europe-based production of the most important types of munitions and weapons. This can only be achieved if we bundle orders at European level and if we do not unnecessarily restrict cooperation between our arms companies. At the same time, I want to add that we will not abandon our defence industries’ transatlantic ties. Going forward, we will continue to buy new American military equipment.

Here, too, we must answer the question now of how we intend to finance these efforts in Europe. I therefore recommend that we create an exception in the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact for all investments in defence goods that lie above our existing NATO target of two percent, for a limited period of time and while ensuring that all member states maintain a sound fiscal policy. Germany is prepared to do that. Peace and security in Europe are at stake. So Europe is called on to step up – now. Europe’s capabilities must be strengthened within a clearly defined time frame. This would then truly be a win-win-win strategy: The United States’ share of the burden in Europe would be reduced. Also, this would lead to a significantly stronger Europe within NATO. And it would strengthen NATO overall, across the entire transatlantic area.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think that the Munich Security Conference is the ideal place to discuss such ideas. After all, a realistic look at the world shows us that it’s high time.

Thank you.