The German coalition government is reportedly in a dispute over approving the production of dozens of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in a deal struck five years ago.
Berlin is facing pressure to move forward with the deal from the UK, as components for the warplanes are produced by the two nations plus Spain and Italy.
According to a report by the German daily Welt Am Sonntag published on 1 July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD party and Finance Minister Christian Lindner are “leaning towards allowing the export.” Still, the Greens and parts of the SPD are “strongly against the move.”
“The federal government must not agree to this under any circumstances,” Greens member and defense policy spokeswoman Sara Nanni told Welt Am Sonntag.
In 2018, Berlin imposed strict restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia following the kidnapping and murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The EU country also banned arms sales to any parties to the war in Yemen.
The deal for the Eurofighters was also put on hold after a British court ruled that arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia were illegal in 2019 over the kingdom’s indiscriminate bombing of civilian buildings in Yemen.
However, London is now arguing that Germany can no longer block the sale of 48 jets, citing last year’s UN-brokered ceasefire between the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni army and the rapprochement deal between the kingdom and Iran.
Those in support of the deal in the EU also argue that Germany cannot afford to refuse producing the Eurofighters as it needs “the goodwill of its neighbors” to develop major defense projects like the planned new FCAS (Future Combat Air System) combat aircraft.
During a visit to the Gulf in September 2022, Scholz hailed Saudi and Emirati leaders for “doing everything to ensure that the fighting [in Yemen] comes to an end.”
According to German media, the chancellor approved several new weapons export deals with Saudi Arabia during this visit.