Under Scholz's cabinet, arms export permits increased by 70 percent

By comparison, between October 2017 and October 2021, arms worth 23.6 billion euros were exported.

This follows from the government's response to a request from Savim Dagdelen, a member of parliament from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance party.

Under the so-called "traffic light" government (based on the party colours), military arms exports rose to 22.5 billion euros. In the previous term, this figure was 6.3 billion euros. The volume of licenses for other military equipment remained roughly the same.

According to the data, so-called collective export permits are attached to individual permits. During Scholz's tenure, this figure amounted to 5.2 billion euros.

The main reason for the increase in arms sales is exports to Ukraine. Kyiv alone was issued export permits worth 14.8 billion euros between October 2021 and December 2024.

"German foreign policy sees its task primarily in supporting military conflicts through arms supplies, economic sanctions and the spread of the image of the enemy, rather than in resolving them through diplomatic means," comments MP Dagdelen on the situation.