German FM criticizes Scholz government over €3 billion aid delay to Ukraine

She stated this in Politico's podcast.

“Germany as a whole isn’t currently seen as a driving force for peace policy in Europe, and honestly that pains me. Even now, during the election campaign, some prioritize a national perspective — or how to quickly gain a few votes in the parliamentary election — rather than taking real responsibility for securing Europe’s peace and freedom,” Baerbock said.

The minister, who advocated for the approval of the €3 billion package, views Germany's approach to aiding Ukraine as indecisive, claiming that the German government is losing the trust of its European allies: “That trust must not be damaged again by hesitation, which could make other countries worry that Germany won’t stand by them.”

She also sharply criticized previous German governments for, in her view, ignoring warnings about the Kremlin's aggressive intentions. In particular, she criticized the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) under former Chancellor Angela Merkel and the SPD, which previously governed in coalition with the CDU, for constructing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.

“Just as Nord Stream 2 was never purely an economic project — despite what the CDU and SPD long wanted to believe — it’s also no coincidence that undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea keep getting damaged,” Baerbock noted.

In her opinion, Germany needs to invest more in its own security, including allocating more than 2% of GDP to defense: “In crisis years, that could even approach three percent,” she added.

The German Foreign Minister emphasized her willingness to cooperate with the new administration of future U.S. President Donald Trump wherever possible, “because America remains one of our closest partners and has been a friend for decades.”

“But if things become more difficult in certain areas, Europe won’t be thrown off course,” Baerbock stated.

The minister suggested that Europe might even benefit from Trump’s unpredictability, including his recent refusal to rule out the use of military force to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland.

“I just returned from a conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And there, topics like Greenland and the Panama Canal were central issues even among our Arab partners. You can sense how absurd these claims seem to so many, and it’s precisely this absurdity that’s pushing actors like Arab nations even closer to Europe,” she concluded.

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that he is against funding aid to Ukraine with money saved from cuts to other budget items.