Europe rearma: this is the millionaire bet to contain Russia and respond to Trump

“We live dangerous times. Europe is threatened in a very real way. Today I present the Rearmar Europe Plan. We are in the era of rearmament And Europe is willing to increase massively The defense spending, ”said Von der Leyen in a brief statement before the media. The plan will be debated on Thursday in a Extraordinary Summit In Brussels.

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Von der Leyen sent to the 27 states that are part of the European Union A letter with five approaches to finance a higher defense expense:

• 1.- Release the use of public funds in defense to allow member states to have fiscal margin to invest without activating the excessive deficit procedure. Von der Leyen estimated that if countries increase their respective investments in defense in 1.5% of GDP on averagethis could generate about 650,000 million euros during the next four years.
• 2.- Activate an instrument that provides loans of up to 150,000 million euros to invest in defense. “It is basically to spend better and together, and we are talking about paneuropeas capacities, areas such as, for example, Air defense and antimiles, artillery, missile and ammunition systems, drones and anti -products systems, But also to address other needs from cyberspace to military mobility, ”said von der Leyen, who added that this fund will allow member countries.”massively increase your support to Ukraine”
• 3.- Redirect funds to investments related to incentive defense for Member States to decide, if they wish, use cohesion policy programs to increase defense spending.
• 4.- Option to obtain private funds, in particular the enormous resources available in European savings to ensure that “they are invested in markets within the European Union.”
• 5.- Resort to European Investment Bank (BEI)which barely invests in defense 2% of its almost 100,000 million euros of budget.

For now, Germany has expressed that it prepares for an unprecedented rearmament since World War II under the probable future government of Friedrich Merz.

The AFP agency realized that in full negotiations to form a government after their victory in the recent legislative elections, the conservative leader presented his Tuesday night his Plan to boost military spending before the foreseeable weakening of the security umbrella offered by decades by the United States in their condition of greater military power of the NATO and from the world.

The proposal will involve skipping the “brake on the debt” enshrined in the Constitution, said AFP, and It will allow Germany to spend at least 100,000 million euros per year in defense.

Europe turned into a mini-oot

The international analyst Enrique Banús He said to Commerce that the European Plan for rearmament It is necessary because the world situation is complicating.

“The growing international tension has led to the European Commission to promote new defense initiatives, in a context where The situation has become increasingly complex. The president of the agency has worked in coordination with the Member States to mobilize resources, although most of the funds will provide directly from the countries, since the commission cannot reallocate budget items autonomously. However, the viability of this strategy faces obstacles, because not all states are arranged or in a position to increase their defense expenditure ”, Banús remarked.

The analyst indicated that one of the mechanisms raised to allow this increase in the military budget is the Temporary suspension of the stability pactwhich will allow states to assume greater public debt. He recalled that This financial flexibility was already applied during the health crisis by the Coronavirusand now it seeks to replicate the scheme in the field of defense.

“Germanyfor example, has reached a political consensus to overcome fiscal restrictions and increase their security expense, marking a significant change in its traditional budget position, ” accurate.

Banús made it clear that The effects of these decisions will not be immediatesince the strengthening of the military capacity of Europe It requires time. “The production and modernization of armament demands infrastructure and technology that Europe has neglected for years, trusting the protection of the NATO And, in particular, in the military power of the United States “he said.

Banús argued that From the Berlin block of 1948 there is the conviction that the United States and Europe are inside the same shipand that European defense is a matter of state in the United States, but now that Trump He assumed power is erasing that of a stroke.

Thus, he said, The European unit of the United States is in the process of transformationin a scenario where Washington privileges its own strategic interests under the doctrine of ‘America first’.

For the analyst, once Europe The block will be rearred as a Mini-oot.

However, he procuses what he will do Vladimir Putin before that goal is reached. “Are you going to remain calm with peace or armistice that you get in favorable conditions now with Ukraine? Or will it have other aspirations? For example, Baltic states are terrified. They have managed to separate Russia in the form of energy, but have no defense capacity if they are invaded ”.

“Europe has to reinterpret the NATO Waiting when Trump disappears and another president comes in the United States returns to the previous situation, since Washington must realize that the expansionist affections of Russia They are also a threat to that nation; There is the theme of the Arctic, where they are going to collide, ”Banús anticipated.

Finally, Banús said Nuclear deterrence has also become an issue of debate within Europeespecially in Francewhich has shown greater willingness to consider this option, and also in the only kingdom. Germany, in contrast, has ruled out the nuclear path due to the pressure of environmental movements.

The military power of Europe

According to the EFE agency, the sum of the European national armies amounts to 1.97 million soldiers, behind China, which is the country with more troops in the world.

As to military equipment, Europe stands out on the rest in armored transport, combat airplanes and combat cars, although it has fewer aircraft carriers than the United States. However, in the old continent there are more frigates and submarines.

On average, the states of the European Union that are part of NATO spend in defense 1.9% of GDP. Trump has demanded that this expense rise to 5%, something considered impossible without resorting to huge social cuts.