'A new era': Germany rewrites its defence, foreign policies

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday announced a "historic" shift inGermany'sforeignanddefencepolicy, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine forces Europe's biggest economy to ditch decades of reluctance in raisingitsmilitary profile.

Haunted byitspost-war guilt,Germanyhas always trod lightly and quietly on the world stage when it comes to conflicts.

But at an emergency parliamentary sitting on Sunday, Scholz, who himself had been accused of dawdling on the Ukraine crisis, said: "With the invasion of Ukraine, we are now in anewera."

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Hours afterGermanydramatically reverseditsban on lethal weapons exports to conflict zones by announcing huge shipments to Ukraine, Scholz said 100 billion euros ($113 billion) will be earmarked for investments for the army in 2022 alone.

The financial bazooka for the Bundeswehr should be written in the German constitution, he said.

Europe's biggest economy will also "from now on -- year after year -- invest more than two percent of gross domestic product in ourdefence," said Scholz.

The commitment goes above the two-percent target fixed by NATO, overturning years of under-investment that had putGermanyin the crosshairs ofitsallies.

Heavy criticism levied by former US president Donald Trump against ex-chancellor Angela Merkel overGermany's failure to meet NATO targets marked the transatlantic relationship.

But Scholz said Putin's assault has made clear that "Germanywill have to invest clearly more in the security of our country."

The aim is a powerful, state of the art, advanced army that protects us reliably."

Different world

Scholz, who took office in December after staging a stunning upset of Merkel's party in elections, had often been derided for his robotic speeches defending existingpolicies.

But the Ukraine crisis appears to have transformed the man once described by Spiegel magazine as "the embodiment of boredom in politics", with what Bild daily called a "historic speech" on Sunday that gives a "jolt to sleepy, boredGermany".

The volte-face is all the more remarkable given the composition ofGermany's current government.

After 16 years of conservative-led coalition under Merkel, Scholz's centre-right Social Democrats (SPD) are currently in charge, along with junior partners the Greens and the liberal FDP.

While the Greens have always had an anti-weapons export stance, the SPD has been accused of an overly cosy attitude with Russia, while the FDP is often criticised for privileging economic interests.

Watch |German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Russian invasion: Attack on Ukraine has consequences for Europe

ButForeignMinister Annalena Baerbock of the Green party declared that "perhaps on this day,Germanyis leaving behind a form of special and unique restraint inforeignand security policy".

"The rules that we have set ourselves must not take us away from our responsibility. If our world is a different one, then our policy must also be different."

Germanysaid it was delivering 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles fromitsBundeswehr stocks to Ukraine.

It will also boost troops in NATO's eastern flank, including withnewdeployments to Slovakia, said Scholz, also voicing readiness to join thedefenceof allied airspace with anti-aircraft rockets.