Germany announced its first National Security Strategy on Wednesday, calling Russia the biggest threat to Europe and warning about growing rivalry with China as Beijing tries to use its economic might to achieve political goals, APA reports citing Reuters.

The document provides an overview of Berlin’s foreign policy, which has shifted towards prioritising security more over economic interests in the year-and-a-half since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This is a major change being carried out by us in Germany in how we deal with security policy,” moving away from military strategy alone and towards an integrated security concept, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the presentation of the document.

It also addressed threats from climate change to supply chain disruptions.

The plan also aims to ensure a more cohesive cross-ministry approach to security, although the government was unable to agree on the creation of a National Security Council due to disagreements within Scholz’s three-way coalition over where it should be housed.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency