Europe Has Received the Message

"The European Union is finally on its way to becoming a power in its own right. That's not because its member countries have suddenly stopped squabbling or its bureaucratic inertia has melted away. It's because the past four years have produced an unremitting state of crisis. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the beginning. Now the imperative comes from Donald Trump's repositioning of the United States as something close to an antagonist."

"In May, the EU decided, for the first time, to help finance defense spending for its 27 member states by taking on EU-wide debt. This move came from the realization that even serious spending hikes in individual countries-European states have doubled their defense outlays since 2015-would vary widely given the economic disparities. Germany, for instance, plans to invest roughly $77 billion over five years, meaning that by 2030, its defense budget could be the world's third largest."

"But that kind of spending is not possible for countries that already carry more debt, and confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin, potentially without U.S. backing, will require the rearmament of all. To this end, the EU has now established an extraordinary instrument, called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, that is prepared to fund up to $178 billion in upgrades to the continent's capacity to produce and procure arms."

The European Union is consolidating power in response to continuous crises, notably Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a shifting U.S. posture under Donald Trump. Loss of guaranteed American cooperation and NATO protection created new vulnerability across the bloc. The EU has implemented unprecedented measures, including issuing EU-wide debt to finance member-state defense spending and creating the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument. Member states have increased defense outlays since 2015, yet economic disparities limit some countries. SAFE can fund up to $178 billion to upgrade European arms production and procurement capacity.

Read at The Atlantic