German arms exports shoot to record high, Hungary biggest buyer
Three years of falling weapons and military hardware exports have gone into reverse, reaching almost €8 billion in 2019. The figures have been criticized as proving that controls on weapons deliveries are not working
German arms exports rose 65% from January to mid-December 2019 compared to 2018 and hit a record of €7.95 billion ($8.8 billion), according to Economy Ministry figures. Politicians from the socialist Left Party and the Greens requested the data, which has been seen by DW.
The documents showed that two of Germany's top 10 arms export customers, Egypt at number two and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at number nine, were active participants in the war in Yemen, in spite of government assurances that Germany would no longer arm those countries.
The figures show government-approved exports of weapons, vehicles, and warships beat the previous record in 2015, which was followed by three consecutive years of drops in the value of exports.
Germany's total export licenses had already exceeded last year's total of €5.3 billion by the middle of the year, the figures revealed.
"These sizable figures show that the entire export control system is simply not working," Left party Bundestag member Sevim Dagdelen, who filed one of the information requests, said in a statement. "We need clear legal bans on arms exports."
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