Germany′s cabinet approved record-breaking arms exports

Germany’s current government has approved massive arms exports to countries in conflict areas, according to a new report. The CDU-SPD cabinet also set new records for selling weapons, despite pledges to reduce it.

Angela Merkel’s government has approved over €25.1 billion ($30.9 billion) worth of weapons sales since taking power in 2014.

This puts the current administration, a coalition of Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), above any other German government in modern history, public broadcaster ARD reported on Tuesday.

The most drastic change comes in exports to nations outside EU and NATO – Berlin approved €14.48 billion ($17.83 billion) in arms between 2014 and 2017. This marks a 47 percent increase compared to the 2010-2013 cabinet, which was also run by Merkel…

The top importer of German arms is Algeria, which imported €1.36 billion in recent years. The top-ten list also features three Middle Eastern nations involved in the Yemen conflict – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.