Germany and the Netherlands are expanding cooperation between their armed forces. A third brigade from the Netherlands is to be assigned to the German Army next Thursday, it was announced on Monday shortly before the German-Dutch government consultations in Rotterdam. The move will “mark another milestone in our cooperation,” a joint statement by the two governments said afterwards. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this integration of the two armed forces was “unique in Europe.”
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren plan to seal the new chapter of cooperation on Thursday in Veitshöchheim, Lower Franconia.
**Cooperation in the navy as well**
The integration – from which both sides expect greater strike power and synergy effects – is not a one-way street: Germany and the Netherlands agreed in 2016 on the gradual integration of the naval maritime battalion into the Royal Netherlands Navy. The naval battalion combines naval protection forces, mine divers and boarding soldiers. Full integration will create joint units with an established command structure that can be deployed together in an alliance situation. The technology is to be largely standardized in the process.
“With the subordination of the Dutch 13th Light Brigade, all brigades of the Dutch Field Army will be subordinated to the divisions of the German Army,” the Bundeswehr announced Monday. Already in 2014, the Dutch 11th Luchtmobielen Brigade (11th Air Mobility Brigade) had been assigned to the German Fast Forces Division (DSK). The Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade – around 3,000 Dutch soldiers – was assigned to the Bundeswehr’s 1st Armored Division.
**Scholz: “First agreement” on purchase of Tennet power grid**
According to the Bundeswehr, the Dutch 13th Light Brigade from Oirschot is one of three combat brigades of the Dutch armed forces. It includes the armored infantry battalions “Princess Irene Fusiliers” and “Limburg Hunters” as well as an armored engineer battalion. The brigade is equipped with Boxer wheeled tanks and the Fennek reconnaissance vehicle, which are also used in the Bundeswehr. In the future, the 10th Armored Division will be the German Army’s focal point for national and alliance defense and will be rapidly deployable, operational and, above all, cold-start capable.
Scholz traveled to the government consultations with six ministers immediately after the night session of the traffic light coalition committee – without having slept. The consultations also dealt with a major economic project that is important for the energy supply in Germany: the sale of the power grid of the Dutch operator Tennet in Germany to the German state. At his press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Scholz (SPD) spoke of an “initial agreement.” Rutte, however, expressed himself in a comparatively distanced manner and spoke of ongoing talks.
It is still being investigated how to reach an agreement, Rutte said. The synergy benefits must be preserved, he said. It is also a matter of finding a “price in line with the market,” the right-wing liberal prime minister added. The aim is to reach an agreement in the summer, according to the joint statement.
Tennet’s parent company is owned by the Dutch state. The German subsidiary is one of four transmission system operators in Germany. Tennet wants to sell the German subsidiary because of the high equity requirements for the energy turnaround – Tennet recently spoke here of 15 billion euros for the expansion of its German network.
Scholz said it was a matter of maintaining the good synergy effects between Germany and the Netherlands that exist through cooperation with the German Tennet subsidiary. In addition, he said, the expansion of the power grids must be accelerated. The transmission grid capacities already planned must be completed more quickly than previously thought so that the Federal Republic can achieve its goal of covering at least 80 percent of gross electricity consumption from renewable energies by 2030.
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Article Translation:
Germany and the Netherlands are expanding cooperation between their armed forces. A third brigade from the Netherlands is to be assigned to the German Army next Thursday, it was announced on Monday shortly before the German-Dutch government consultations in Rotterdam. The move will “mark another milestone in our cooperation,” a joint statement by the two governments said afterwards. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this integration of the two armed forces was “unique in Europe.”
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren plan to seal the new chapter of cooperation on Thursday in Veitshöchheim, Lower Franconia.
**Cooperation in the navy as well**
The integration – from which both sides expect greater strike power and synergy effects – is not a one-way street: Germany and the Netherlands agreed in 2016 on the gradual integration of the naval maritime battalion into the Royal Netherlands Navy. The naval battalion combines naval protection forces, mine divers and boarding soldiers. Full integration will create joint units with an established command structure that can be deployed together in an alliance situation. The technology is to be largely standardized in the process.
“With the subordination of the Dutch 13th Light Brigade, all brigades of the Dutch Field Army will be subordinated to the divisions of the German Army,” the Bundeswehr announced Monday. Already in 2014, the Dutch 11th Luchtmobielen Brigade (11th Air Mobility Brigade) had been assigned to the German Fast Forces Division (DSK). The Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade – around 3,000 Dutch soldiers – was assigned to the Bundeswehr’s 1st Armored Division.
**Scholz: “First agreement” on purchase of Tennet power grid**
According to the Bundeswehr, the Dutch 13th Light Brigade from Oirschot is one of three combat brigades of the Dutch armed forces. It includes the armored infantry battalions “Princess Irene Fusiliers” and “Limburg Hunters” as well as an armored engineer battalion. The brigade is equipped with Boxer wheeled tanks and the Fennek reconnaissance vehicle, which are also used in the Bundeswehr. In the future, the 10th Armored Division will be the German Army’s focal point for national and alliance defense and will be rapidly deployable, operational and, above all, cold-start capable.
Scholz traveled to the government consultations with six ministers immediately after the night session of the traffic light coalition committee – without having slept. The consultations also dealt with a major economic project that is important for the energy supply in Germany: the sale of the power grid of the Dutch operator Tennet in Germany to the German state. At his press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Scholz (SPD) spoke of an “initial agreement.” Rutte, however, expressed himself in a comparatively distanced manner and spoke of ongoing talks.
It is still being investigated how to reach an agreement, Rutte said. The synergy benefits must be preserved, he said. It is also a matter of finding a “price in line with the market,” the right-wing liberal prime minister added. The aim is to reach an agreement in the summer, according to the joint statement.
Tennet’s parent company is owned by the Dutch state. The German subsidiary is one of four transmission system operators in Germany. Tennet wants to sell the German subsidiary because of the high equity requirements for the energy turnaround – Tennet recently spoke here of 15 billion euros for the expansion of its German network.
Scholz said it was a matter of maintaining the good synergy effects between Germany and the Netherlands that exist through cooperation with the German Tennet subsidiary. In addition, he said, the expansion of the power grids must be accelerated. The transmission grid capacities already planned must be completed more quickly than previously thought so that the Federal Republic can achieve its goal of covering at least 80 percent of gross electricity consumption from renewable energies by 2030.