Germany’s Free Democratic Party pushes for Bundestag vote on delivering TAURUS missiles to Ukraine
Ahead of the early parliamentary elections in Germany, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) plans to put the question of delivering long-range TAURUS cruise missiles to Ukraine to a vote in the Bundestag. This strategy was confirmed by FDP faction leader Christian Dürr in a recent interview with Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
"This is feasible. Considering statements from the CDU/CSU and the Greens, I can easily envision that such a proposal would succeed," Dürr stated.
Dürr criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for "spreading myths" about the imminent collapse of the ruling "traffic light" coalition. He mentioned, "The chancellor wanted an additional three billion euros for Ukraine, which I promised him. With a budget of 488 billion, this was entirely feasible. But not the 15 billion that Scholz wanted to use for SPD projects with the remaining funds," the FDP faction leader asserted.
Moreover, Dürr argued that if the situation in Ukraine is dramatic, then money is not the primary need. "We proposed that TAURUS cruise missiles finally be delivered to Ukraine," he emphasized.
Earlier in the week, FDP’s General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai echoed similar sentiments. During a session at the Körber Foundation forum in Berlin, Djir-Sarai firmly dismissed claims that the German governmental coalition fell apart because FDP's chair and Finance Minister Christian Lindner opposed allocating an additional three billion euros for Ukraine in the 2025 budget.
Djir-Sarai recounted that when three billion euros for Ukraine was discussed on November 6th during the coalition committee meeting, the liberals stated that finding this sum through savings in other budget areas was achievable.
However, according to Djir-Sarai, the Chancellor insisted on securing additional loans, which would entail suspending the so-called "debt brake” embedded in the country’s constitution. Moreover, in the current situation, Djir-Sarai argued that Ukraine doesn’t so much need another three billion, but rather the weaponry it has long been requesting from Germany—such as the TAURUS missiles which are still being denied by the chancellor.