Security involves not only ensuring the state’s defense capability, but also its economic and energy independence, freedom to choose development paths.
This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Berbock, during the presentation of the document “National Security Strategy: Integrated Security for Germany”, reports the correspondent of Ukrinform.
“Security means not only the absence of war,” Burbok noted.
According to her, security is also the freedom to organize life and economy according to one’s own choice, without political restrictions and economic dependencies.
“That is why we are getting rid of dependence on energy carriers from Russia. For every cubic meter of Russian gas, we paid national security a double and triple price. In the future, we will focus more on security when it comes to decisions on economic policy,” said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She added that this also applies to who is allowed to invest in critical infrastructure. In this connection, the minister mentioned the situation when the largest gas and oil storage facilities in Germany were owned by Russia’s Gazprom.
Burbok emphasized that after February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that Europe is vulnerable and peace is fragile: “Security in the 21st century is more than defense and diplomacy.”
In this context, Burbok mentioned such threats as cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, pandemics, climate change, etc. New threats are complex and affect all areas of the state and economy, and the policy of “integrated security” must be applied. According to the minister, this means the constant consideration of security issues: not only when it comes to decisions about equipping the Bundeswehr, but also regarding the reliability of supply chains or the freedom of the media sphere.
As reported, the German government developed the first National Security Strategy in the history of Germany, analyzing the new security environment. The basis of the document is the concept of “Time Changes”, announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the 3rd day after the beginning of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
