German Parliament Delays Decision on IAI's Drone Deal
Under American pressure? After the higher court in Dusseldorf dismissed a legal challenge by General Atomics to Germany's plans to lease the drones from IAI, the German parliament's budget committee has postponed a decision on the deal
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 22/06/2017
By I-View_250_unmanned_aircraft.jpg: Wikibobderivative work: NatanFlayer (talk) - I-View_250_unmanned_aircraft.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7745947
The German parliament's budget committee on Wednesday postponed a decision on a 1-billion-euro ($1.11 billion) funding package for the military, including a deal to lease Israeli-made armed drones, according to Reuters.
Christine Lambrecht, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), had said that the budget committee would delay a decision on the whole funding package as her party needed more time for consultations.
Some SPD lawmakers have reservations about leasing Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) which can be armed and used to protect soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Mali.
The higher court in Dusseldorf in May dismissed a legal challenge by US weapons maker General Atomics to Germany's plans to lease the drones from rival IAI. But the court this month said it had put the deal on hold again as it considers a complaint by General Atomics against its decision.
Some SPD lawmakers want the budget committee to delay a decision on the deal until a final court decision.
[Source: Reuters]
Under American pressure? After the higher court in Dusseldorf dismissed a legal challenge by General Atomics to Germany's plans to lease the drones from IAI, the German parliament's budget committee has postponed a decision on the deal
By I-View_250_unmanned_aircraft.jpg: Wikibobderivative work: NatanFlayer (talk) - I-View_250_unmanned_aircraft.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7745947
The German parliament's budget committee on Wednesday postponed a decision on a 1-billion-euro ($1.11 billion) funding package for the military, including a deal to lease Israeli-made armed drones, according to Reuters.
Christine Lambrecht, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), had said that the budget committee would delay a decision on the whole funding package as her party needed more time for consultations.
Some SPD lawmakers have reservations about leasing Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) which can be armed and used to protect soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Mali.
The higher court in Dusseldorf in May dismissed a legal challenge by US weapons maker General Atomics to Germany's plans to lease the drones from rival IAI. But the court this month said it had put the deal on hold again as it considers a complaint by General Atomics against its decision.
Some SPD lawmakers want the budget committee to delay a decision on the deal until a final court decision.
[Source: Reuters]
