Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Gen. Carsten Breuer presented the new defense policy guidelines for the “turning point” at the Bundeswehr conference on November 9, 2023. According to the document, the armed forces’ core mission is national and alliance defense. The personnel and equipment of the Bundeswehr are based on this mission. This requires a force capable of war, because the threat situation in Europe has changed dramatically since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which violated international law.
“War has returned to Europe with Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine. This means the threat situation has changed. As the most populous and economically strong country in the middle of Europe, Germany must be the backbone of deterrence and collective defense in Europe. The first defense policy guidelines in over a decade respond to this new reality,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“A life in peace and freedom can no longer be taken for granted in the center of Europe,” says the new defense policy guidelines. Freedom and security must be defended together with our allies. For the Bundeswehr this means: “Readiness to fight with the aim of success in high-intensity combat.”
The defense policy guidelines are the basic document and the compass for the direction of the Bundeswehr. The specifications for personnel and materials are derived from them.
At the same time, crises, conflicts and regional tensions influence the immediate European security environment in Africa, the Middle East, the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific. China, for example, “is simultaneously a partner, competitor and systemic rival,” according to the Defense Policy Guidelines. In this respect, Germany’s international military commitment must continue to go beyond alliance and national defense. This is in line with the requirements of the NATO Strategic Concept and the EU Strategic Compass.
Geostrategically aligned: Integrated defense policy
The Bundeswehr’s contributions to international crisis management remain indispensable for creating and maintaining stability in Europe’s neighborhood. In addition, the Bundeswehr’s commitment will also be based on an internationally comprehensive integrated defense policy. These include, for example, global armed forces cooperation with proven partners in training and exercises as well as reliable armaments cooperation.
The Bundeswehr is the guarantor of Germany’s deterrence and defense capability. Its core mission is national defense, which protects citizens as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Germany and its allies through reliable and firm integration into alliance defense.
Defense Policy Guidelines 2023
With the Defense Policy Guidelines 2023, a basic document has now been published that builds on the National Security Strategy adopted in the summer and further develops the security policy goals formulated therein in terms of defense policy. The new guidelines therefore replace the 2016 White Paper and the Bundeswehr’s 2018 concept.
In a next step, the requirements of the defense policy guidelines will be translated into a new capability profile for the Bundeswehr and a military strategy. “The Defense Policy Guidelines form the foundation for our future military capabilities. They are the guard rails for our structures, leadership culture, personnel recruitment, equipment and training. “On this basis, we are forming a new, common self-image of defensiveness and war capability,” said Inspector General Breuer.
Overall state resilience: increasing resilience
Although the defense policy guidelines primarily set targets for the structure of the Bundeswehr, they are also aimed at everyone in the state and society who bear responsibility for the country’s security within the framework of overall defense and who want to fundamentally strengthen national security provisions. The Bundeswehr is a core instrument of defense against military threats. But: “The condition for successful overall defense is the interconnection of all relevant actors even in peacetime: state, society and economy.”