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Eurofighter in Bavaria
Photo: Daniel Karmann / dpa
Germany will not deliver Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia in the foreseeable future. Such a delivery "is not foreseeable," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius. The Federal Chancellor said: "The situation in Yemen has changed considerably." The »Süddeutsche Zeitung« had first reported on it. Accordingly, the German government does not want to issue any more applications for export licenses for Saudi Arabia until the end of the war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has participated militarily in the conflict in Yemen.
Germany supplies components
As the "Welt am Sonntag" reported at the beginning of July, Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) are said to have apparently thought about approving the production of Eurofighter fighter jets for Saudi Arabia.
The country already has 72 such machines. Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its airstrikes in the civil war in Yemen; civilians were also killed in the attacks. Five years ago, the Saudi regime had already agreed with the British-based arms company BAE Systems on an option for 48 more fighter jets of the type. Germany is supplying components for the construction of the Eurofighter, which is why approval from the German government is required.
However, a blessing of the new arms deliveries would be a slap in the face for the Greens, for whom arms exports are considered a fundamental issue. Actually, the traffic light coalition had set itself the goal of "a restrictive arms export policy" – that's what the coalition agreement says. To this end, the SPD, Greens and FDP want to create the Arms Export Control Act: binding, transparent rules for export decisions with a focus on respect for human rights and international law. The Ukraine war had torpedoed this project.
muk/Reuters