German arms exports down by a quarter in 2020

Berlin (dpa) – Following a record 2019, export licences for German military equipment fell by more than a quarter last year, as revealed in the Arms Export Report for 2020, which the Cabinet approved on Wednesday.

According to the report, the government allowed the export of weapons and military equipment worth 5.82 billion euros (7.06 billion dollars), 27 per cent less than the 8.015 billion euros in the previous year.

The Economy Ministry had already announced the figures at the beginning of the year.

With the 140-page export report, the government is fulfilling its duty to create a certain transparency about the business of the German arms industry and about arms deliveries of the Bundeswehr abroad.

The front-runner among the recipient countries was again Hungary, with an export volume of 838.4 million euros. It was followed by Egypt (763.8 million), Israel (582.4 million) and the United States (510.0 million). The deliveries to Egypt are especially controversial because of the human rights situation in the country, which is ruled with an iron hand, but also because of its involvement in the Yemen war.

The ministry pointed out that 99 per cent of the approved deliveries to Egypt were for its naval forces. These included submarines and patrol boats. These goods were not suitable for internal repression or for use in the Yemen conflict, a spokesperson said.

“Efficient naval forces are in Egypt’s legitimate defence policy interest and also in the international interest of coastal and maritime security,” she said.

The federal government’s export licences had fallen steadily between 2016 and 2018, but then jumped in 2019. Since individual deals can be in the high triple-digit millions or even billions in extreme cases, the statistics are subject to strong fluctuations.

In 2020, the share of exports to countries that do not belong to the EU or NATO or are on an equal footing with these countries, such as Japan and Australia, increased.

About half of the approved deliveries – 50.1 per cent – went to these so-called third countries, compared to 44.1 per cent in 2019.

Exports to these countries are particularly controversial because some of them are involved in conflicts or violate certain human rights standards.