conference which the United Nations and the Soviet Union will organize in Moscow in August. Transparency and openness in military affairs and parliamentary control are becoming integral elements of our day-to-day political practice. This year, the German Democratic Republic has for the first time participated in the United Nations standardized report system on military expenditures and laid open its budget data for 1989. The interest which German unification has aroused worldwide is understandable. German unification is not only a matter for Germans but at the same time a matter concerning Europe as a whole. However, nobody should be afraid of it. What we are aiming at is a united Germany that will never again be able nor seek to become a centre of military power; we want a Germany that constitutes a factor of peace and stability. We favour a drastic cut in all German armed forces. The two German States should, in our view, declare their preparedness to reduce markedly German armed forces. The ceiling for the armed forces of a united Germany could be some 300,000 men to begin with. This would mean halving the present combined troop strength of the Bundeswehr and the National People's Army. The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic should propose to the States participating in the Vienna CFE talks the inclusion of this ceiling in the negotiations under way. We are convinced that such an initiative, which should be endorsed by the two German States and also by NATO countries as well as the other States involved therein, would substantially facilitate further work. The German Democratic Republic has renounced the production, proliferation and possession of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and would like to see an article to the same effect included in the constitution of a unified Germany. Chemical weapons as well as all nuclear weapons have to 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be a political statement or speech, focusing on the topic of German unification, military affairs, and disarmament. It discusses the participation of the German Democratic Republic in international organizations, the reduction of armed forces, and the renunciation of certain weapons. The text also touches on the theme of transparency and openness in military affairs.

**Category**
International relations, Politics