Germany to double peacekeeping troops - by Judy Dempsey
As Germany seeks to play a greater role on the world stage, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said in an interview that Berlin would soon double, to 15,000, the number of troops trained for peacekeeping and other missions despite tough restrictions on the ministry's budget. The sharp rise in the number of soldiers Germany will make available to the European Union's Rapid Reaction Force reflects changes that have taken place since the early 1990s, when the German government was reluctant even to send troops to peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia.
But with more than 7,500 German troops already in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, Jung said the government was prepared to play a greater role. "We have developed a concept for the military with a vision based on our international responsibilities," he said.
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