Fund the Raw Material Fund from the Defense Budget
For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court has declared the budget of a German government to be unconstitutional. Reasoning: The loans left over from the Corona period are only intended to repair damage caused by the pandemic, not for general concerns such as climate protection. As it was planned to use the 60 billion euros contained in the special fund to also finance the German commodities fund, the ruling not only disrupts the budget planning of the coalition government, but also the supply of critical commodities to German industry.
Our Industry Needs the Raw Material Fund
The verdict has been announced and the red robe has presumably been hung up again. But how will Germany now pay for its commodities fund? As a reminder: security of supply of critical commodities is currently about as acute as the supply of masks and vaccines in 2020. This is not the only reason why simply abandoning the fund is not an option. Technology metals and rare earths are the basis of critical industries such as transportation, healthcare and communications. If there is no longer a supply of these elements, the situation is very different to when we run out of toilet paper during a pandemic. Because then almost everything in this country comes to a standstill.
Critical commodities are relevant for defense
Speaking of special funds: There is also the one for the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). It is actually untouchable, but an emergency is an emergency. Wars will in the future be decided by AI and highly technologized drones anyway – all things that cannot be produced without access to corresponding strategic metals. In general, modern defense is impossible without technology metals and rare earths. The electronics of radar systems require germanium, a material that, like gallium, is also used for semiconductors. The laser chips of state-of-the-art computers contain indium. And rhenium can make vehicle armor more resistant. It would therefore be entirely in the spirit of the constitution to use the defense budget for stockpiling these metals.