German parliament slaps limits on drone deal after Peter Thiel backlash

BERLIN — Germany’s parliament approved a multibillion-euro military drone contract on Wednesday, but only after coalition lawmakers imposed new financial caps and oversight conditions following scrutiny over Peter Thiel’s stake in Stark, the Berlin-based startup that was awarded the deal.

The agreement — covering loitering munitions from Stark and competitor Helsing — cleared the Bundestag’s budget committee with binding restrictions that would limit how much the Defense Ministry can ultimately spend and require renewed parliamentary approval for large optional orders.

The late-stage changes, summarized in a document obtained by POLITICO, followed days of political controversy over Thiel’s minority investment in Stark, as well as broader concerns among coalition lawmakers about how the framework contract was structured and disclosed to parliament.

The Thiel Foundation, a private foundation set up by Peter Thiel and contacted by POLITICO in an effort to seek a response, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

The confidential Stark contract, seen by POLITICO, is structured as a seven-year framework agreement with an initial fixed order worth €268.6 million. If all optional orders had been exercised, the total value could have reached roughly €2.86 billion.

Under the conditions adopted Wednesday, any additional orders beyond the initial tranche require renewed parliamentary approval. The Defense Ministry must also demonstrate completed qualification and serial readiness before follow-on orders can proceed. If it seeks to exceed the €1 billion cap, it must submit updated needs justifications and pricing documentation to lawmakers.

Stark did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment on limits to the contract.

It’s unclear what Thiel’s share in the company is. The investor is known for supporting President Donald Trump and bankrolling conservative candidates such as Vice President JD Vance, aligning himself with the populist wing of the Republican Party.

Beyond investor concerns, coalition budget lawmakers had also questioned pricing structures and redacted passages in documents presented to parliament. Christian Democratic lawmaker Andreas Mattfeldt warned that “responsibility does not mean rubber-stamping.”

The contracts were originally designed so that, if one supplier failed, the other could scale up to cover the Bundeswehr’s full requirement. By capping each company at €1 billion without renewed approval, lawmakers have limited that built-in redundancy — ensuring that any large expansion will require another political decision.

Doepfner Capital, led by Moritz Döpfner, the son of Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, is also an investor in Stark. Axel Springer owns POLITICO.