Europeans tightened their belts
Europeans tightened their belts
Europe’s defense raises its voice
On Thursday, March 6, in Brussels, the European Council approved a plan for the rearmament of the ancient continent. This agreement includes more flexibility for member countries in terms of expenses and debts, and a 150 billion euro fund for investments.
Less than a month ago, on February 14, JD Vance, in his speech at the Munich Conference, ushered Europe into a new era.
In a long and fiery speech filled with verbal attacks on European leaders, the Vice President of the United States created a deep political and ideological rift between the two sides of the Atlantic in front of astonished and bewildered spectators.
A few days later, the humiliation of Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, repeated threats of imposing tariffs, and the phrase ‘Europe was created to deceive us’ stated by Donald Trump confirmed the undeniable shift in the White House’s trajectory, which increasingly aligned with Moscow.
On March 6, for the first time, the approval of a plan by the European Council to enhance the defense and security of member states was presented as a European response to the ongoing changes in the international order.
The leaders of the 27 EU member states approved an 800 billion euro plan for rearmament, presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
This agreement provides more flexibility for member countries regarding defense spending and debt and offers a 150 billion euro fund, as well as the possibility to assess additional financing options.
But most importantly, this agreement signifies the urgency of a shift in direction that has taken shape in recent weeks, emphasizing the need to participate in the defense of Kyiv and the continent with or without US support.
Hungary was isolated
Although last night the approval of the rearmament plan by 27 countries was achieved, the path to a supportive statement for Ukraine was more difficult, where Hungary withdrew. The document was approved with the signatures of the remaining countries, excluding Budapest, and was attached to the summit’s results.
In the text of this statement, 26 countries declared they are ready to respond to Kyiv’s immediate military and defense needs, especially providing air defense systems, ammunition, and missiles.
Initially, Slovakia also opposed but joined the majority after receiving assurances about the possibility of resuming Russian gas supply through Ukraine, the details of which are still unspecified.
In contrast, Viktor Orban did not back down at the last moment to receive something, as had happened several times in the past, but instead maintained his opposition.
Instead of approving a softened text to appease Budapest, the leaders decided to choose a text strongly supported by 26 of the 27 member countries.
For the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, Hungary has been isolated from the other member countries, but he noted that one isolated country does not mean a divided European Union.
A reasonable peace in 5 points
In this document, 26 countries outline a 5-point proposal for peace in Ukraine, considering the new motivation for negotiations that should lead to a fair and lasting global peace. The European Council emphasizes the importance of the following principles:
1. No negotiations about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine’s presence. 2. No negotiations affecting European security can occur without Europe’s participation. The security of Ukraine, Europe, the transatlantic region, and the world are interconnected. 3. Any ceasefire or halt to the war can only occur as part of a process leading to a global peace agreement. 4. Any such agreement must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for Ukraine to help prevent future Russian aggression. 5. Peace must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. To achieve peace through strength, the 26 countries emphasize that Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position.
To this end, the European Union is determined to provide enhanced political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people in coordination with like-minded partners and allies, and to increase pressure on Russia, including through the adoption of additional sanctions and strengthening the implementation of existing measures to weaken Russia’s ability to continue its aggressive war.
Has Europe awakened?
Less than two months after Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, it is worth noting that even in Europe, the situation has radically changed. The UK, having officially exited the Union, is discussing strategies and priorities in support of Ukraine and the defense of the continent with its European allies.
In Germany, the future Chancellor Friedrich Merz, before coming to power, set aside doubts and announced a change in the debt limit for a 500 billion euro investment in Germany’s defense and infrastructure, reigniting the Franco-German engine that seemed to have stalled.
His decision seems to align with the Élysée’s proposal to employ France’s nuclear deterrence in service of the continent, albeit under Paris’s control, a proposal presented by Emmanuel Macron in a live televised speech to the nation, which Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as very promising, and also Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who added that everything must be on the table at present.
On the other hand, in a few weeks, the pace of European developments has gained unprecedented momentum, and although it is still too early to say how deep its effects will be, there is no doubt that on Thursday in Brussels, the Union finally took serious action.
For France, Macron pointed out the necessity of immediately allocating 3 to 3.5% of GDP for the defense budget, emphasizing that this must be done without increasing the general tax burden, a challenging task given the current state of Paris’s public accounts, which will force political officials to make tough decisions between war and welfare, a debate that is in fact fully underway in London.
However, Macron explained that our generation will no longer be able to benefit from the dividends of peace, and we must hope that our children can benefit from the dividends of today’s decisions.
For Europe, Macron announced that next week he will invite the chiefs of staff of the prepared countries to Paris, countries ready to deploy military forces after a reliable and lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.
Thus, Britain and France reaffirm their leadership for an initiative that should help ensure what Zelensky recently defined as a ‘reasonable peace for Kyiv’.
And if it is still unclear which other country might be available for this European reassurance force, a very noteworthy interview a few days ago saw Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan express Ankara’s interest in participating in a European defense initiative post-NATO.
But the most interesting part of Macron’s speech was undoubtedly the reference to launching a discussion on the possibility and potential conditions for a purely European nuclear sharing, an idea that had been simultaneously raised by future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Paris and London.
Additionally, in recent days, Merz has strongly emphasized the dangers of the new strategic landscape and even used a ‘five minutes to midnight’ metaphor, invented during the dark years of the Cold War by the International Association of Nuclear Physicists to refer to the threat of nuclear holocaust.
However, this idea is not entirely new. In the past, first Jacques Chirac and then Nicolas Sarkozy had alluded to the possibility of joint deterrence, especially between France and Germany, although in a relatively vague manner. But those times were different, undoubtedly less dangerous, and the idea, inevitably linked to the civilian use of nuclear energy after Chernobyl, faced resistance within both countries.