Germany agrees ¬ 100b fund to modernise army

Germany s government has agreed to release 100 billion euros ($107 billion) to modernise its military in the face of the Russian threat. The country's conservative opposition has also supported the proposal.

An agreement was reached on Sunday to create a special fund for military procurement that will also allow the country to achieve NATO s target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence sector.

The deal was struck after weeks of tough negotiations between the parties in the governing coalition and the conservative oppositions.

On 27 February_ days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine_ German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a special budget of 100 billion euros to modernise the German military and its outdated equipment.

But critics have since accused Scholz of pusillanimity in his support for Kyiv and failing to take enough strong action in terms of arms deliveries.

The agreed 100 billion euros will be paid into a special fund outside the national budget.

Release of the funds for the army is a major reversal for the country_ which in recent years has dragged its feet on complying with its NATO spending commitments_ drawing criticism from the US in particular. Since the end of the Cold War_ Germany has significantly reduced the size of its military_ from around 500_000 in 1990 to 200_000 now.

Not more than 30 per cent of German naval ships were  fully operational . Many of the country s fighter aircraft are not fit to fly.

But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has jolted into action a country dived into pacifism since the horrors of the Nazi era.