Thread by @gesine_weber

So the German security strategy is out - what does it say on Germany's place in Europe, European security, and EU/Germany-China? A thread: 🇩🇪🧵
#Sicherheitsstrategie

First things first: here's the full document in English: nationalesicherheitsstrategie.de/National-Secur…

Let's start with some counting:
- France: 5
- USA: 4
- Poland: 0
- UK: 0
- China: 6

- European Union/ EU: 74

On world order and China: not many new elements.

According to the press conference, the China strategy "will be ready when it's ready".

Potential launch date of the China strategy: 5 July.

How Germany sees itself in the world order: continuity. Deepening of EU integration is "raison d'Etat", and so is the emphasis on US-German relationship.

NATO is the cornerstone of Germany's security strategy: explicit focus on NATO planning goals and coordination with NATO partners.

First mentions of the EU in the chapter "defending peace and freedom" relates to the role of EU for civil protection, then underlines that EU needs to leverage its entire toolkit (e.g. enlargement, CSDP tools).

On European defence industry, one could paraphrase is "wherever possible, but also buy non-European when necessary". Let's see how this plays out in practice.

Article 44 TEU gives the possibility for EU member states to delegate a task of the CSDP to a European coalition of the willing. It's part of the EU's Strategic Compass (agreed upon by all EU-MS), but this is a real evolution of German security policy compared to pre-2022.

Important political sign that the EU's mutual solidarity clause is mentioned alongside NATO article 5 and article 4 of the Aachen treaty with France.

What's not included (1):
- national security council: in the press conference, Baerbock mentioned that this was an idea in the beginning of the drafting process, but that the government worked well together in their response to Ukraine.

What's not included (2):
- details on European defence cooperation: commitment to PESCO, EPF and art. 44, but no further details.
- European Skyshield Initiative: mentioned in the press conference as a good project, but not in the strategy

What's not included (3):
- details on arms exports. The government is still working on a national legislation on arms exports. Particularly challenging for the Greens to strike the balance between restrictive arms export policy and leaving legal space for support for Ukraine.

Strategy in a nutshell:
- a lot of continuity in German security policy orientation
- Germany learns strategic thinking and the language of geopolitics - that is the real innovation
- it's a big picture outline and not a step-by-step document

The process itself that Germany is drafting a strategy with so many ministries involved was a clear progress. Now it's about implementation. The hard decisions will have to be made once the special fund is used. To understand where German security is heading, look at 2024 budget.