Germany to invest over $11 billion in civil protection by 2029

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
7 Sep 2025 19:58

Germany will allocate 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) to civil protection by 2029, upgrading shelters, warning systems, and crisis communications in its largest modernization program in decades.

Listen

German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt visits the Polish-Belarus border crossing with Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, in Polowce, Poland, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)

Germany will spend 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) by 2029 to strengthen its civil protection system, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced in an interview with Bild on Sunday.

“We are upgrading our civil protection ... By 2029, 10 billion euros will be allocated to a large-scale modernization of civil protection from natural disasters, crises, and conflicts,” Dobrindt said. According to Bild, this is expected to be Germany’s largest civil protection program in decades.

Authorities plan to purchase new warning systems, including sirens and mobile alerts, expand the network of public shelters, and increase nationwide emergency response exercises. The program will also develop crisis-resistant digital communications between civil protection agencies and the German military.

Figures from the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) highlight the urgency of the investment: Germany currently has about 480,000 public shelter spaces, enough for just 0.5% of the population.

Civil protection while seeking major defense projects?

At the same time, Germany is seeking parliamentary approval for around 80 defense projects by the end of the year, including the purchase of Eurofighter jets and the modernization of the Taurus cruise missile, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

The document lists 81 defense projects, each with a value exceeding the 25 million euro ($29 million) threshold that requires approval from parliament's budget committee.

Among the items is a purchase of 20 Eurofighter jets from Airbus, a package known as Tranche 5 that was previously announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The list also includes plans to modernize the Taurus cruise missile system and to establish a new production line for its next-generation variant, the Taurus NEO.

Other major projects on the list include the acquisition of Patriot and IRIS-T SLM missile systems, Puma infantry fighting vehicles, Boxer armoured personnel carriers, and Israeli-manufactured Heron TP drones. In August, Germany halted its exports of arms to "Israel" in light of the entity expanding its operations in the Strip.