diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index f999dba98c7537082132fbfb147ce03d35f45fe3..c21e8b0061fa34bac038ea671bde4281265470cc 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ maven-release:
     - 'cd deegree3'
     - 'mvn -q $MAVEN_CLI_OPTS install -DskipTests'
     - 'cd ..'
-    - mvn release:prepare release:perform $MAVEN_CLI_OPTS -DscmReleaseCommitComment="release @{releaseLabel}" -DtagNameFormat="v@{project.version}"
+    - mvn release:prepare release:perform $MAVEN_CLI_OPTS -DscmReleaseCommitComment="release @{releaseLabel}" -DtagNameFormat="v@{project.version}" -DskipTests -Darguments=-DskipTests
 
 gitlab-release:
   stage: deploy