Germany passes ‘Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz' law to streamline army
In a country notorious for cumbersome bureaucracy, weapons procurement is being streamlined as part of a rearmament plan by Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor.
Ironically, the law, which is supposed to make life easier for defence contractors and trade negotiators, is one of the longest words in the German language and difficult to pronounce.
Passed on Wednesday, ministers hope the Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz [federal armed forces procurement efficiency law] will simplify the process of buying weapons and equipment.
It will enable major defence firms to secure contracts faster and improve access for start-up businesses, particularly in new areas of defence, such as the drone sector.
Boris Pistorius, German defence minister, is said to be frustrated by long delays in acquiring new kit for the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, such as frigates and armoured vehicles.
According to Tagesschau, a German news website, his defence ministry is particularly worried about progress on the F126 frigate project, which is expected to be delayed by at least two years.
Another contract with a Dutch company to provide the German navy with six ships by 2028 has also run aground, the newspaper said, amid speculation that the deal could be dropped altogether.
A multi-billion euro project to deliver the Heavy Weapon Carrier, a high-tech armoured vehicle, has also been plagued by delays.
The Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz is part of Germany's wider efforts to become a major security power in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Merz has vowed 'Germany is back' and has already passed historic reforms to unlock potentially unlimited public spending on new German defence projects.
The centre-Right Christian Democrats leader has committed to Nato's target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence, and is also considering a return to conscription, which was scrapped by Germany in 2011 because it was believed to be no longer necessary.
The Bundeswehr this year launched its first permanent overseas deployment since the Second World War, sending an armoured brigade to Lithuania to help secure Nato's eastern frontier with Russia.
Running at 43 letters long, Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz is one of the longest words in German.
Germany is no stranger to having very long names for laws and business regulations, such as 'Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz,' an archaic rule about beef standards which was once the longest German word.
The longest official German word, at 72 letters, is Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft, referring to a trade association for steamboats.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - EU's lopsided Trump trade deal will be short-lived
BERLIN, July 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - European Union trade negotiators may promptly celebrate the success they have achieved by clinching a deal with Donald Trump. If so, the question should be: If that passes for success, what would failure have looked like? Financial markets and European captains of industry will doubtless heave a sigh of relief at the agreement, announced on Sunday by the U.S. president and his European Commission counterpart Ursula von der Leyen. The continent's main exporters can base their investment and commercial plans on the 15% levy on U.S. imports accepted by the Commission. That's much lower than the 30% charge on European goods Trump had promised to impose on August 1 in the absence of a deal, which in turn was less than a previous 50% threat. Importantly, the rate applies to European cars, which join Japanese-made vehicles in escaping the 25% charge on U.S. auto imports, and to the continent's pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, which may have otherwise faced punitive sector-specific treatment. The deal also enables the Europeans to shelve counter-tariffs and other measures they had lined up. Some degree of uncertainty has at least been dispelled. Nevertheless, the tariff level still amounts to capitulation by Brussels. It must be compared not to Trump's threats, but to the 1.47% average, opens new tab rate previously applied to European goods crossing the Atlantic. Only two months ago, several EU governments were warning, opens new tab that a 10% across-the-board charge, similar to what the UK had obtained, would be a red line that should trigger some form of response. In addition to the added trade friction, the EU has also promised to import more energy – spending $250 billion a year on American oil and gas – and could invest some $600 billion stateside. That, at least, is Trump's interpretation of the deal. It's unclear whether these figures represent incremental amounts, or what time frame the president had in mind. Fuzzy as they are, these EU pledges at least do not look very binding. Yet the vague agreement also suggests Sunday's announcement is unlikely to be the last word. Even at the lower rate, the tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy. They will either bring much-needed revenue — a source of pride for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – or shrink imports. But they cannot achieve both at the same time. And if EU businesses do crank up investment in the U.S., the resulting capital flows will be to the detriment of the trade balance. All this means the EU's trade surplus, opens new tab with the U.S., which reached 198 billion euros in goods last year, partly offset by a 109 billion euro deficit on services, may not shrink much in the coming years. When the impulsive and unpredictable president can no longer deny the destructive impact of his tariffs, he will be tempted to yet again blame U.S. trade partners. It's puzzling that the EU, the world's largest, opens new tab trading power, has failed to grasp that the best way to fight bullying is to stand your ground. Follow Pierre Briancon on Bluesky, opens new tab and LinkedIn, opens new tab.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
US and EU clinch deal with 15% US tariff on most EU exports to avert trade war
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods, but averting a spiralling battle between two allies which account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters after an hour-long meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15% tariff applied "across the board". "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said. The deal, which also includes $600 billion of EU investments in the United States and $750 billion of EU purchases of U.S. energy over Trump's second term, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies. Even so, the baseline 15% tariff will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared with the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30% rate. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying in a statement that a trade conflict had been averted that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. But Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who chair's the trade committee of the European Parliament, said he was "quite critical" because the tariffs were imbalanced and the pledged $600 billion of investment would likely come at the expense of EU industry. The euro rose around 0.2% against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal's being announced. The deal mirrors key parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week. "We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%," Trump said. That rate will not, however, apply to steel and aluminium, for which a 50% tariff will remain in place, although von der Leyen said it would be cut and replaced with a quota system. Von der Leyen said the rate also applied to semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. "We will keep working to add more products to this list," she said, adding that the situation on spirits was still to be established. Eric Winograd, chief economist at AllianceBernstein in New York, noted the similarity with Japan's U.S. deal. "We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," he said. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." He has periodically railed against the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said the EU wanted "to make a deal very badly" and said, as he met von der Leyen, that Europe had been "very unfair to the United States". His main bugbear is the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The EU points to the U.S. surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Trump also talked on Sunday about the "hundreds of billions of dollars" that tariffs were bringing in. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30% tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in the event there was no deal, and Trump had pressed ahead with 30% tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, to target U.S. services in the event of a no-deal.
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
Germany unlikely to fall foul of EU deficit rules, official tells FT
VIENNA, July 27 (Reuters) - The European Commission will probably not impose a so-called excessive deficit procedure on Germany for breaching the EU's budget deficit cap this year, Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told the Financial Times. Germany's new conservative-led coalition government has said it does not expect a planned spending spree, including on defence, to be found in breach of European Union rules that cap budget deficits at 3% of gross domestic product. Berlin's budget deficit is expected to come in at 3.3% of GDP this year, but since defence spending fully accounts for the amount over 3%, Germany "is likely not to end up in (the) excessive deficit procedure", Dombrovskis was quoted as saying in the FT interview published on Sunday. An excessive deficit procedure involves the Commission and EU finance ministers setting a corrective course to bring a member state's deficit back within the 3% limit. A country's failure to do so can in principle eventually lead to a fine. "We have to see the execution, because it's close (but) if everything holds, then it should not be the case for this year's budget," Dombrovskis said, adding that a final assessment would take place in the spring when data for 2025 is available. Under the EU's new fiscal rules, which the previous, more fiscally conservative German government helped negotiate, member states can exclude some defence spending from their deficits.
