Agency Report –
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said an ongoing domestic political dispute over an aid package for Ukraine has left its mark on the country’s standing with European allies.
“Germany as a whole isn’t currently seen as a driving force for peace policy in Europe, and honestly that pains me,” Baerbock told news website Politico in an interview published on Friday.
A majority of German lawmakers support more military aid for Ukraine, but there is no consensus on how to fund a €3 billion ($3.1 billion) package ahead of elections on February 23, with opposition parties accusing Chancellor Olaf Scholz of exploiting the issue as a campaign tactic.
Scholz’s Social Democrats favour suspending Germany’s strict constitutional rules on government borrowing to raise the sum, but the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and Baerbock’s Greens oppose doing so.
Baerbock said the fight could make allies “worry that Germany won’t stand by them.”
