This followed the approval of a white paper on Germany's security policy and the future of its armed forces on July 13. The fundamental suggestion of the white paper -- which sits atop the hierarchy of security strategy documents and drives medium-to-long-term strategy -- is that Berlin should take on greater responsibility for international peace and security and demonstrate leadership within the limits of its capabilities.
Germany is considering opening its armed forces to non-German EU citizens and has abandoned a fixed upper limit of active forces.
Closer coordination and joint exercises between the armed forces and police are likely, despite political resistance.
The white paper commits Germany to a policy of deterrence and dialogue vis-a-vis Russia, with Moscow described as a security challenge.
