New German Coalition: One Step Forward and Three Steps Back

From END Info 28 - Jan/Feb 2022 - DOWNLOAD

By Reiner Braun, Berlin

On the possible participation of the German government in the State Conference on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in Vienna, March 2022.

In the coalition agreement between the SPD (Social Democrats), Bündnis 90/die Grünen and the FDP (Free Democrats), the clause regarding the TPNW is written in somewhat convoluted German:

“In light of the results of the NPT Review Conference and in close consultation with our allies, we will constructively support the intent of the Treaty as an observer (not as a member) at the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

The possibility of participation in the State Parties conference could not have been formulated more restrictively. It is not the treaty and its follow-up conference that are being observed, but the ‘intention’. Despite all relativization, this promise of participation can be counted as a success for the diverse actions and activities of the peace movements (especially the protests at the nuclear weapons site in Büchel), which pressed and campaigned for participation. It shows – as does the participation of the government of the NATO member Norway – that the policy of the NATO countries can no longer be to simply defame the treaty, but rather they must react to it; it can no longer ignore it politically, but must acknowledge its increasing relevance for international security policy. This is an important success for the work of the international peace movement.

But reality remains hard and brutal: Germany’s participation in the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW is not accompanied in the coalition agreement by further arms control measures or even disarmament steps. On the contrary: Nuclear deterrence and consistent support for NATO’s aggressive policy are enshrined as the foundation of German foreign and security policy. The game of vabanque being played with the survival of humankind remains the foundation of German policy. This is more than dangerous and certainly not conducive to peace.

There are currently about 20 US nuclear weapons stored in Germany. Germany remains a stationing country for US nuclear bombs even under the new federal government, and the weapons continue their process of “modernization”. The word “modernization” is a trivializing euphemism for new U.S. nuclear weapons (B61-12) on German soil, which are faster, more accurate, guided, and can be classified as strategic weapons. These weapons can reach Russia. Their production will begin in 2022, and their deployment in Europe from 2024 will inevitably lead to Russian counteraction. Germany’s consent on this matter not only exposes it to nuclear destruction, but it fuels the nuclear arms race. The deployment of new nuclear weapons is explicitly foreseen in the coalition agreement; Germany’s sharing of nuclear weapons will continue.

This new generation of nuclear weapons also requires new nuclear fighter bombers, 15 F-18 U.S. fighter jets on the one hand and 93 Eurofighters on the other. The procurement alone costs 8 billion euros and is expressly provided for in the coalition agreement.

New nuclear weapons and new fighter-bombers will be operated by German soldiers and officers who, in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will be trained on these aircraft carrying nuclear weapons and are to transport them to their targets in times of crisis and war. These acts in violation of international law are expressly provided for in the coalition agreement; in other words, nuclear sharing, in violation of international law, remains government policy. This is a clear violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

What conclusions can we draw about the new coalition’s stance on nuclear weapons? Apart from a verbal emphasis that the new German government is striving for “a world without nuclear weapons” and half-hearted observer participation in the TPNW conference in Vienna, the government’s political signs point to rearmament, new nuclear weapons, and an intensification of the nuclear arms race.

Disarmament looks different. The German peace movement continues to face great challenges.

Reiner Braun, Executive Director of the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and active in many ways in the German peace movement.