ERR News
June 7, 2022
Germany to reinforce presence on NATO’s eastern flank
Germany will increase its contribution to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battalion in Lithuania after passing legislation to increase defense spending, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a visit to Vilnius on Tuesday.
“We are going to increase our contribution by strengthening the eastern flank of NATO. We are going to create a strong brigade and we have discussed that together in our meetings and we are going to have to work towards this direction,” Scholz said at a press conference with Baltic and German leaders….
Germany agreed last week to increase defense spending by €100 billion which will allow the country to increase its armed forces. The country will aim to spend 2 percent of GDP.
“It will become one of the strongest armed forces in Europe and one of the strongest armed forces in NATO,” Scholz told reporters on Tuesday. “By being part of NATO we have made a commitment to defend every centimeter of the territory of the alliance.”
Scholz also defended Germany’s reaction to Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine saying it is one of the top three countries sending aid to Ukraine. Germany has also applied all the sanctions agreed by the EU and is seeking alternative sources of oil and gas, he said.
“We expressed our solidarity and we are going to continue to support Ukraine by providing it with arms,” he said. “This support will be provided as long as it is necessary, as long as it takes for Russia’s aggression to be stopped.”
The chancellor added Germany will send howitzers to Ukraine and Ukrainians are currently being trained to use the weapons.
***
Baltic leaders Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, and Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinš welcomed Scholz’s decision to increase Germany’s presence on NATO’s eastern flank.
***
Kallas welcomed Germany’s “historic decision” to increase defense spending and meet NATO’s 2 percent of GDP spending target. “When Germany is strong, Europe is strong,” she said.
Speaking about the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid, she said: “It is clear our defense has to go to a new level….NATO’s presence has to be increased in the air, on land and in the navy…The German leadership is going to help in Madrid to adopt the right decisions that are going to ensure NATO’s readiness for future challenges.”
***
Scholz will also visit German troops stationed in Lithuania during his visit.
====
Deutsche Welle
June 7, 2022
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday arrived in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on his first official visit to a NATO country bordering Russia since the war in Ukraine started.
Scholz met with the heads of government of the Baltic states to discuss the state of security on NATO’s eastern flank.
The three Baltic countries all border Russia, and Latvia and Lithuania border Russian ally Belarus. Thousands of NATO soldiers, including German soldiers, are stationed in this region.
***
Scholz spoke about the allocation of around €100 billion ($106 billion) special fund toward bolstering the German armed forces, saying that would help it become the strongest armed forces in Europe and one of the strongest in NATO.
Scholz also said that support for Ukraine would be provided for as long as it was necessary.
====
Baltic Times
June 7, 2022
Scholz in Vilnius acknowledges necessity to deploy more troops in Baltics
It is essential to increase the number of troops deployed in the Baltic states in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after his meeting with Baltic leaders in Vilnius on Tuesday.
“We have envisaged that we will scale up our contribution to the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank, we will create a strong brigade, have discussed that with each other and will have to work on this,” Scholz said at a news conference following his meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
***
The Baltic states are urging NATO leaders to decide at a summit in Madrid in late June on boosting the multinational allied battalions stationed in the Baltic countries and Poland to the size of brigades.
Anti-bellum 