Higher Defense Budget is Popular
VINCORION-CEO Stefan Stenzel: Security has its price. This realisation is gaining ground in Germany.
There is a majority among the German population in favour of raising the defense budget: It could increase by 11.5 billion euros, or about 20 percent. This value was determined by researchers at the HWR Berlin in a study that examined the German population’s appreciation of and willingness to pay for security.
“The result indicates that large parts of the population are open to an increase in taxes and duties to finance further measures to expand national security and defense,” the authors say. The 25 percent increase in troop strength is particularly favoured by among supporters of the parties SPD and the Greens, as well as the CDU. Liberal supporters are mainly in favour of a 50 percent increase.
Various media have reported on the study, which is entitled “The Value of Security and National Defense: A Measurement of Societal Valuation Depending on Party Preferences in Germany” and was published in “Wirtschaftsdienst – Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik”.
The defense sector gains respect
“Society in Germany recognizes that the free democratic order of prosperity is not free”, says Dr Stefan Stenzel, CEO of the technology company VINCORION from Wedel. “We in the defense technology industry feel that appreciation is slowly increasing.” However, it has already been pointed out for 30 years that security has its price. “Now this realization is slowly being acknowledged.”
It is not yet entirely clear, he says, how sustainably the proclaimed “Zeitenwende” in Germany is anchored in political Berlin. Stenzel: “Defense is still not the highest priority.” But when it comes to procurement, he says, there must be a willingness to move at speed – similar to the LNG deliveries, where new terminals for liquid gas were quickly set up.
Equip the defense sector
Stenzel underlines the need to better equip the defense department. He calls for a more substantial increase than that identified in the study by the HWR Berlin. “The 100 billion euros in special funds are not sufficient to fill the gaps created by the savings of the past years. The defense budget must increase annually not by ten or eleven million, but by 20 to 30 billion euros.”
Stenzel emphasizes that he does not derive this from the two-percent target, but from the requirements of operational capability. Only with such a budget could Germany procure the urgently needed number of weapons, material, ammunition and spare parts for the armed forces – in order to equip the soldiers of the Bundeswehr well.
Dr. Stefan Stenzel, CEO of VINCORION
Photo: VINCORION
Link to the study:
https://www.hwr-berlin.de/meta/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung-detail/3559-der-wert-von-sicherheit-und-nationaler-verteidigung/
Press Contact:
Florian Hanauer
PR-Manager
VINCORION Advanced Systems GmbH
Feldstrasse 155
22880 Wedel, Germany
Phone: +49 4103 60-2250
Mail: florian.hanauer@vincorion.com
About VINCORION
VINCORION is a technology company that specializes in innovative power systems for safety-critical applications, including generators, electric motors, and drives, gensets, power electronics, and hybrid power systems. As a partner to the civil aviation, security and defense, and rail industries, VINCORION develops and manufactures solutions tailored to its customers’ specific requirements on the basis of an in-depth dialog. A high-performance customer support team provides assistance and service to users of the company’s own products and those from third parties throughout the entire product life cycle.
With approximately 700 employees at sites in Germany, and the United States, VINCORION generated revenues of approximately 122,8 million euros in 2022.
For more information, visit our website www.vincorion.com or Twitter and LinkedIn.
