Germany

Time for Germans to Earn the Gift of 1989

By Constanze Stelzenmüller, Brookings

At this watershed moment, Germany, dubbed the “reluctant hegemon” not so long ago, finds itself the pivotal player in Europe.

NATO Intercepted 19 Russian Military Aircraft Today

By Allied Command Operations

NATO detected and monitored four groups of Russian military aircraft conducting significant military manoeuvers in European airspace over the Baltic Sea, North Sea/Atlantic Ocean, and Black Sea on 28 and 29 October 2014.

Has Russia’s War on Ukraine Changed European Defense Budgets?

By Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News

Russia’s heightened aggressiveness has been on display for most of the year, notably in Crimea and Ukraine. But President Vladimir Putin’s military forces have been more antagonistic elsewhere,

Airbus Chief Hits Out at German Defense Policy

By AFP

The head of European aerospace giant Airbus, Thomas Enders, lashed out at what he saw as Germany’s risk aversion in matters of defence policy in a magazine interview Wednesday.

A Crisis in German Defense

By Peter Dörrie, War is Boring

The German armed forces have come clean. They’ve admitted they’re incapable of managing arms procurement—and have systematically neglected the hardware that’s already in service.

After 25 Years, Germans Present the Berlin Wall’s ‘Signature Segment’ to Atlantic Council and Washington

By New Atlanticist

In the quarter-century since the Berlin Wall fell, a group of Germans has created a particular memorial to that event: a three-ton segment of the wall signed by the government and other leaders who managed the peaceful ending of the Cold War. This week, they presented it as a gift to the American people, to […]

Defense Minister: Germany Unable to Meet NATO Commitments

By Deutsche Welle and AP

From Deutsche Welle:  Germany could not currently fulfill its NATO commitments in the event of an attack on a member of the alliance, owing in part to severe backlogs in replacement parts for its aircraft.

Spain to Replace Dutch in Turkey Patriot Missile Deployment

Spain will send a Patriot anti-ballistic missile battery to Turkey’s southern border with Syria as part of a NATO initiative, Defence Minister Pedro Morenes said on Wednesday, replacing the Netherlands’ contribution to the deployment.

Is NATO Back? That Depends on Germany

By Emily Cadei, Ozy

The last few months have made clear that NATO’s core mutual-defense mission is more intensely relevant than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union 23 years ago.