Germany to reduce commodities dependencies - National Security Strategy summary

The strategy, which is expected to be published in full later on Wednesday, comes a year and a half after Russia's invasion of Ukraine which exposed Germany's over-reliance on Russia for energy. It also contains a pledge for Germany to spend 2% of economic output on average on defense, according to the summary - a weaker pledge, however, than the one made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz days after the Russian invasion in a landmark speech heralding a "turning of era" or "Zeitenwede" in German foreign policy.

Germany aims to reduce one-sided dependencies in commodities through diversification of supply and create incentives for firms to hold strategic reserves, according to a summary of its new National Security Strategy. The strategy, which is expected to be published in full later on Wednesday, comes a year and a half after Russia's invasion of Ukraine which exposed Germany's over-reliance on Russia for energy.

It also contains a pledge for Germany to spend 2% of economic output on average on defense, according to the summary - a weaker pledge, however, than the one made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz days after the Russian invasion in a landmark speech heralding a "turning of era" or "Zeitenwede" in German foreign policy. Scholz had said Germany would from now on invest more than 2% of economic output on defence up from around 1.5% currently, after years of resisting pleas from NATO allies to do so.