Political Risk:
Low
Score:
78/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
100/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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As a consequence of the Second World War, the German Constitution or ‘Basic Law’ (the ‘Grundgesetz’), demands strong parliamentary control over the armed forces.…
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The German Bundestag regularly approves or vetoes laws on security, exercises budgetary power and reviews or approves major arms procurements and decisions. Parliamentarians can…
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Neither the executive nor the military coerce or unduly influence Parliament to vote in their favour. As a directly elected Parliament, the Bundestag, in…
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Q2
83/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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There is a Defence Committee with formal mechanisms. It has the power to scrutinise any aspect of the performance of the Ministry of Defence…
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The Defence Committee is comprised of 36 members, some of whom have expertise in the defence sector and are able to influence decisions. However,…
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The Defence Committee reviews major defence policies and decisions every five years or earlier if new threats arise. They meet once a week and…
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The Defence Committee plays an important role in the adoption of the defence budget and the procurement of equipment and materiel for the Bundeswehr.…
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The Defence Committee – like every committee – discusses and deliberates items referred to it by the plenary. It also has the right to…
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Ministries sometimes incorporate recommendations into practice, but not regularly. Please see indicators 2D, 17D and 28B [1,2].
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Q3
75/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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Germany has two main policy documents: a) the ‘White Paper on Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr’ of 2016, which provides an…
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There are in-depth public discussions that address all of the following issues: a) a clear articulation of the security threats that the country is…
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The White Paper on Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr was published in 2016 and presents possibilities for making government action in…
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Overall, there is a strong focus on transparency and the majority of these documents are publicly available and widely discussed – with the exception…
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Q4
67/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is not a lot of evidence to suggest that defence and security institutions practise much openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing…
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Civil society organisations enjoy a range of protections, including rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association without government interference, and are able…
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Defence and security institutions are open towards CSOs but their work on issues of corruption is infrequent or superficial. The military does not engage…
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Q5
88/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Q6
100/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There is regular public debate among academics, journalists, opinion-formers and CSOs about defence issues and related topics, such as the current corruption scandal within…
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The government engages in regular debate with academia, opinion-formers and CSOs about defence issues in collaborative ways and co-organises discussions with independent think tanks…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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There is an openly stated anti-corruption policy that applies to the defence sector. The Federal Government Directive Concerning the Prevention of Corruption in the…
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The action plan at the ministry level reflects the institutional weaknesses in the system, as described on page 20 of the Rules on Integrity:…
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Q8
92/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There are identifiable compliance and ethics units within defence and security that are mandated to handle integrity and corruption in defence. The Ministry of…
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The point of contact for all matters relating to corruption prevention does not work within the chain of command and is accountable to the…
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Regular risk assessments are performed to identify positions with a higher risk of corruption. When it comes to selecting staff for these positions, special…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There is no data available that focusses specifically on this question. In general, 85%…
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Q10
58/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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Corruption risks are identified, but risk assessments are conducted for the ministry or armed forces as a whole, rather than focussing on individual departments.…
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There is a schedule for risk assessments, but they are conducted on a less-than-annual basis [1]. The last official risk assessment was published in…
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Risk assessment findings may be used to develop an anti-corruption policy or action plan, but they are not used to regularly update either policy…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
100/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) is the central procurement office within the ministerial portfolio of the Federal…
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The public has access to information about the entire process, so they can obtain information as needed. Information is proactively published on the Bundeswehr…
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There are strong external oversight functions that assess the country’s long-term acquisition plans, their legitimacy and the likelihood that they are going to function…
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Q12
100/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Detailed information on the Ministry of Defence budget can be found in Einzelplan (‘individual budget’) 14, which is part of the annual Federal Budget.…
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The Ministry of Defence provides a publicly available overview of the defence budget, including comparisons against previous years, information about systematic issues and the…
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Q13
100/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Budget Committee has extensive formal rights of scrutiny of the defence budget. The Committee has the power to scrutinise any aspect of the…
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The Committee has introduced amendments to the budget and there is evidence that in some instances, these have resulted in changes to the budget.…
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Q14
92/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The Ministry of Defence provides a publicly available overview of the defence budget, including comparisons against previous years, information about systematic issues and the…
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The vast majority of the approved Defence Budget is fully disclosed and transparent to the media and civil society actors. There may be exceptions…
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Information requested by citizens, media, and civil society about the defence budget is provided, but there may be some delays. There are few instances…
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Q15
100/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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In the Federal Budget, income titles are organised by purpose; under each title, users can see the source of the income [1]. All income…
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Mechanisms of scrutiny are in place and administered by a central government department, i.e. the supreme audit institution, as well as the internal audit…
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There is considerable and consistent scrutiny by the public, including the media and CSOs [1]. The Federal Budget and the federal budget are published…
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Q16
56/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The internal audit unit conducts ongoing audits of the Federal Ministry of Defence’s expenditure and has the flexibility to structure its own work programme…
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The Federal Audit Office conducts a comprehensive review of the budgetary and economic management of the Federal Government. Pursuant to Section 95 of the…
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There is very little external scrutiny of the internal audit function of defence ministry expenditure. The BMVg audit unit has not been checked by…
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The ministry sometimes seems to address audit findings in its practices, but not regularly. While it is highly likely that the Government takes its…
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Q17
75/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The Federal Audit Office (the ‘Bundesrechnungshof’, also ‘Federal Audit Court’ – FAC) acts independently as an external auditor of the German defence budget, as…
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The independence of the Federal Audit Court is guaranteed by the Grundgesetz, which protects it from undue political influence. The Federal Audit Court proposes…
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The FAC provides extensive communications on the results of audits on its website, publishing the results as well as final reports in full. However,…
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Auditors may conduct inspections to see whether recommendations have been implemented [1]. The audit results of the Federal Audit Office are comprehensively evaluated in…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
100/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Defence institutions are, by statutory or constitutional means, entirely prohibited from having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource…
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There are no cases of defence institutions being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation. No evidence could be found to…
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There are no cases of individual defence personnel being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation [1,2,3].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no evidence that such interests exist [1,2,3].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no evidence of defence institutions having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the…
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Organised Crime
Q19
63/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Specific evidence of penetration by organised crime (OC) into the defence and security sector could not be found. However, there is very low likelihood…
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The government seems aware of the possibility of organised crime in the defence and security sector (see 19A above), but its response is unclear…
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Q20
100/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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As mentioned in Q8, there is a special investigations branch (Unit R II 1) in the Legal Affairs Directorate, consisting of 30 investigators and…
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These policing functions operate independently of the bodies that they investigate, and their budget is ring-fenced [1]. Furthermore, the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt)…
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Cases are investigated or prosecuted through formal processes and without undue political influence. Corruption allegations within the Ministry of Defence lead to further investigation…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
50/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Germany has three different intelligence services, two of which are civilian agencies – the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the…
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The Committee meets at least quarterly. It publishes activity reports and assessments on its website. The government is required to inform the Committee comprehensively…
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Q22
50/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Article 33 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) stipulates that every German national has equal opportunities to run for public office if they have the…
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According to the Ministry of Defence, there is no opportunity for intervention by third parties that may result in selection bias or undue influence…
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The investigation of candidates’ suitability is questionable, because elements of the vetting process are compromised or of low quality. The relevant law on the…
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Export Controls
Q23
67/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Germany signed the ATT in 2013 and deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations on 2 April 2014 [1]. Furthermore, arms exports…
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Although there are appropriate legal provisions in place, Germany’s arms export practice has been frequently criticised. Weapons exports, especially those to countries with questionable…
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According to Art. 26(2) of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), the authority to grant or reject applications for export licences lies exclusively with the Federal…
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Lobbying in Defence
There is no legislation regulating lobbying in the defence/security sector in Germany. Lobbying is almost entirely unregulated in Germany. Regulations only refer to party…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no legislation regulating lobbying in the defence/security sector in Germany. As the ‘Berateraffäre’ scandal has…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no legislation regulating lobbying in the defence/security sector in Germany. The country has a voluntary…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no legislation regulating lobbying in the defence/security sector in Germany. There is only a weak…
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