On May 15, PRIF Board Member Simone Wisotzki participated in a panel discussion on arms exports as part of the 2026 Katholikentag (Catholic Church Congress) in Würzburg. At the event organized by the pax christi initiative under the title “German Weapons All Over the World? An Initial Review of the Arms Export Policy Under Chancellor Merz,” she discussed the federal government’s arms export policy and European perspectives alongside Ralf Stegner (Member of the Bundestag/SPD) and Niklas Wagener (Member of the Bundestag/Alliance 90/The Greens). Karl Heinz Wiest (Arms Export Commission of pax christi – German Section) moderated the discussion.
In her opening remarks, Simone Wisotzki addressed the political shift in Germany from efforts to enact an Arms Export Control Act (REKG) to a strategic realignment. Against the backdrop of global rearmament, which has intensified since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the enormous expansion of the German defense industry, and the interest in strategic alliances, the CDU-SPD coalition is guided by considerations of foreign and security policy as well as economic policy. Accordingly, a reduction in restrictions on the approval of deliveries of weapons of war and other defense equipment can be observed.
Germany’s arms export policy has undergone a shift in perspective and has become a strategic component of German foreign and security policy. The policy of “procuring to export” will lead to an increase in arms exports to problematic third countries. Instead of operating more closely through European defense cooperation, European defense and arms policy remains highly fragmented due to concerns about national sovereignty and economic protectionism. The German government’s political actions further cement this status quo at the EU level, Wisotzki criticized: The government is barely making any effort to pursue an urgently needed restrictive and coordinated arms export policy.
Simone Wisotzki leads several projects at PRIF's Research Department International Security, including research on “Perspecives of Arms Control” and on “Dealing with Resistances and Backlash of Gender Equality Norms in Peacebuilding”. She is also a member of the GKKE’s Expert Group on Arms Exports. You can read more about her analysis of German arms policy in the wake of the “Zeitenwende” on the PRIF Blog (in German).