Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has announced plans to massively expand civil protection in Germany. The ministry will invest ten billion euros by 2029, a ministry spokesperson confirmed on Monday in Berlin. The funds will be allocated to equipment, personnel, and technology for the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). A construction program is planned to make THW buildings crisis-proof. Additionally, 1,000 specialized vehicles are to be procured.
The corresponding draft legislation is scheduled to be approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. The newspaper Bild first reported on Dobrindt's initiative. According to the report, 110,000 new field beds are to be procured, and public shelters such as bunkers, tunnels, and underground parking facilities will be recorded in a registry. These shelters will subsequently be integrated into the federal government's NINA warning app and displayed there.
According to the report, a new staff unit called "Civil Defense Command" is to be established at the Federal Interior Ministry. In the event of defense scenarios, this unit would coordinate cooperation with the Bundeswehr.
"We are ramping up population protection and civil defense," Dobrindt told Bild. The focus is on "taking a clear stance against hybrid threats" and providing "consistent support for volunteer forces." Military and civil defense will be networked for greater security and resilience.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) strongly welcomed the plans. Not only has Germany's defense capability been underfunded over the past 30 years, but civil protection has received almost no investment, Pistorius said in Berlin.
"Finally, the issue of population protection is being concretely addressed," said Christian Reuter, Secretary General of the German Red Cross. This is urgently needed, as funding for civil and disaster protection has been inadequate. However, Reuter demanded that "the paradigm shift in population protection" must also include recognized relief organizations much more significantly, "otherwise a crucial component remains excluded."
"This is an important issue that must now be addressed jointly," said SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf regarding Dobrindt's plans. There is a need to catch up here, because "we have failed for many years to perceive this as a threat to us."
"It is clearly high time," emphasized Greens Party leader Franziska Brantner. She pointed out that her party has long been pushing to expand civil protection. The Greens also ensured that the exemption from the debt brake in the Basic Law applies to civil protection as well as to the military. However, more money "does not yet replace structural reforms." In particular, cooperation between the federal government and the states must be improved.
The Left Party, however, views the Interior Minister's initiative critically. "In principle, it is good to provide modern population protection," said Left Party leader Jan van Aken in Berlin. More funding for the THW, fire departments, or hospitals is "important and correct." However, if Dobrindt's goal is only to make the country more war-ready, this has little to do with modern population protection.
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