Germany to form national security council
The German Defense Ministry previously reported the sharpest growth in military recruitment in years, saying it is aimed at countering what Berlin describes as the 'threat' from Russia. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also called for developing the Bundeswehr into the 'strongest conventional army in Europe' and increasing military spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029. Berlin has also been considering reintroducing conscription to address what it calls a 'changing security situation in Europe.'
The new security council is expected to coordinate the work of various departments and focus on analyzing information on domestic, foreign, and economic and digital security. It will convene in crisis situations, identify medium- and long-term threats, and develop strategies to respond to them, according to dpa.
The body will be chaired by Merz and will include relevant ministers, members of German security agencies, scientific experts, and representatives of other countries, the EU, and NATO. The official decision is set to be announced during the first government meeting after the parliamentary recess on August 27 in the Ministry of Defense.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected claims it poses a threat to Europe, dismissing speculation that it plans to attack NATO countries as 'nonsense.'
Russia has also condemned NATO's military buildup, accusing the bloc's European members of 'firmly following the path of reckless militarization' and Germany of 'whipping up hysterical Russophobia across the European continent.'
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western European leaders of forgetting the lessons of history and 'trying to prepare Europe for war – not some hybrid war, but a real war against Russia.' Responding to Merz's call for Germany to once again become Europe's leading military power, Lavrov noted that the chancellor 'didn't even choke on the word 'again'.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
40 minutes ago
- Russia Today
Russia has won the war
Russia has already won the Ukraine conflict, and it's now up to the West to acknowledge this outcome, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Orban made the remarks on Tuesday shortly after he snubbed the latest joint EU statement in support of Ukraine issued ahead of the upcoming meeting between US President Donald and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin scheduled for Friday. Speaking to the 'Patriot' YouTube channel, the PM said he partly opposed the statement as it only made the European Union look 'ridiculous and pathetic.' 'When two leaders sit down to negotiate with each other, the Americans and the Russians ... and you're not invited there, you don't rush for the phone, you don't run around, you don't shout in from the outside,' Orban stated, adding that 'if you are not at the negotiating table, you are on the menu.' Moscow has already won the conflict against Ukraine, the Hungarian leader noted, adding that Kiev's backers are still treating the battlefield situation as if it were 'open-ended' instead of acknowledging this reality. 'We are talking now as if this were an open-ended war situation, but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war,' he stressed. 'The only question is when and under what circumstances will the West, who are behind the Ukrainians, admit that this has happened, and what will result from all this.' A member of both the EU and NATO, Hungary has consistently opposed Brussels' policies on the Ukraine conflict since its escalation in February of 2022, particularly with respect to supplying Kiev with weapons and imposing sanctions on Russia. Budapest has also opposed the idea of Kiev joining either of the blocs. The ties between Budapest and Kiev have been further soured by tensions around the Hungarian ethnic minority in Western Ukraine. Last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Kiev has no place in the EU and 'doesn't even belong among civilized nations,' citing a recent death of an ethnic Hungarian at the hands of Kiev's draft officers.
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
Polish PM blasts ‘local idiots' after neo-Nazi flag scandal (VIDEO)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused 'local idiots' and 'foreign agents' of stoking tensions between Poland and Ukraine, following the display of a flag used by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators who participated in the ethnic cleansing of Poles during World War II, at a rap concert in Warsaw. Former Polish ambassador to Washington, Marek Magierowski, said that the concert had been attended by 'hundreds of able-bodied, conscription-age Ukrainians.' He added that they were 'Proudly displaying a red-and-black nationalist flag, an outrageous insult to most Poles.' In a post on X on Tuesday, Tusk accused Russia of seeking to pit the two nations against each other. 'The resolution of the Ukrainian war is approaching, so Russia is doing everything to sow discord between Kiev and Warsaw,' he claimed. Moscow has consistently denied interfering in the affairs of other nations. While admitting that the 'anti-Polish gestures' were made exclusively by Ukrainians, he suggested that it was Moscow's 'scenario, orchestrated by foreign agents and local idiots.' Tusk said that authorities had begun deportation proceedings against 63 foreign nationals – 57 Ukrainians and six Belarusians – after the disturbances. He did not say whether those carrying the UPA flag had been arrested. Footage from Saturday's concert by Belarusian rapper Max Korzh showing fans waving a red-and-black banner – associated with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – sparked a national outcry. Warsaw police said 109 people were detained at the event for offenses ranging from drug possession to assaulting security personnel. The UPA is widely considered to be behind the murder of between 40,000 and 100,000 Poles in the Volhynia and Galicia regions in 1943 and 1944. The Volhynia massacre – as well as Kiev's reluctance to officially take responsibility for the atrocities – has complicated Polish-Ukrainian relations despite Warsaw's support for Kiev in its conflict with Russia.
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
AfD now Germany's most popular party
The right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has overtaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc to become the country's most popular party, a new survey shows. According to the RTL/ntv 'Trendbarometer' poll released on Tuesday, the AfD is at a record 26%, one point ahead of the ruling coalition's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU), which have fallen to 24% – their lowest level since 2021. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is at 13%, the same as the Greens, while the Left party sits at 11%, with all other parties in single digits. A quarter of respondents said they would abstain or remain undecided – far more than in the last election. With the coalition nearing its 100-day mark this Wednesday, approval for Merz has sunk to 29%, the lowest since his election in May, while discontent has climbed to 67%. Criticism is sharpest in eastern Germany and among AfD, Left, and Green supporters, fueling doubts about the government's staying power. Since taking office, Merz has adopted a hardline stance towards Russia, recently pledging an additional €5 billion ($5.6 billion) in military aid to Ukraine. Berlin is one of Kiev's largest backers, and last month Merz declared that diplomatic options in the conflict were 'exhausted,' drawing accusations from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of choosing escalation over diplomacy. The commitment of fresh funds to Kiev has sparked criticism at home, coming amid Germany's worsening economic outlook. The poll found 62% expect the economy to deteriorate this year – the most pessimistic reading so far – while only 14% foresee improvement. Half of the respondents trust no party to handle the country's problems. Founded in 2013, the AfD has steadily gained ground amid a continuing migrant crisis in Germany. It came in second in February's federal election with 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, and has since moderated its rhetoric in a bid to attract centrist voters ahead of next year's regional polls.
