March 4 (UPI) -- The European Union on Tuesday unveiled a $841 billion "ReArm Europe Plan" using all the financial means at the continent's disposal to help member states urgently ramp up defense capabilities, both to meet immediate threats and through the remainder of the 2020s.
The proposal to unleash state funding by triggering emergency measures exempting governments from strict deficit spending rules, calls for member states to up their defense budgets by 1.5% of GDP, equivalent to $683.5 billion over four years, and $157.5 billion in defense investment loans, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
When it is all over, I hope they will sit down and count the trillions of Euros that the Ukraine war cost the EU. A proxy war between NATO (read USA) and Russia in a country that doesn't belong to either the EU or NATO. One of the world's most corrupt countries, a country with a Russian history.
Speaking in Brussels after the United States said it was cutting off all military assistance to Ukraine, von der Leyen said events had moved beyond questions of the true threat level facing Europe, or if it should take greater responsibility for its security, to whether it was ready and able to respond "as the situation dictates."
She said the answer from a series of emergency summits in European capitals, most recently in London on Sunday, was unanimous agreement that a colossal increase in defense spending was necessary.
Think outside the box, Ursula, your paradigm is much too small. There are many ways to secure peace that don't require bankrupting the EU and would leave money to actually invest in good things instead of new ways to kill people. Joint investments with Russia would be a good starting point.
"We are in an era of rearmament. And Europe is ready to massively boost its defense spending. Both, to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine but also to address the long-term need to take on much more responsibility for our own European security," said von der Leyen.
The $157.5 billion of loans was designed to create a "pan-European" capability in which states "spend better" by pooling their purchasing power and developing joint air, missile and drone defense systems, missiles and attack drones, as well as cyber warfare systems, enabling them to "massively step up their support to Ukraine," she said.
And developing ways to kill people will be the fastest-growing industry in Europe. Is that how you see Europe, Ursula? Perhaps you need to step down in favour of someone with a little imagination.
"Joint procurement will also reduce costs, reduce fragmentation increase interoperability and strengthen our defense industrial base. And it can be to the benefit of Ukraine," von der Leyen said. "This is Europe's moment, and we are ready to step up."
It's a step down, Ursula, a big step down.
Von der Leyen said Brussels would provide incentives to encourage states to increase defense by allowing them to use money from its "cohesion policy programs" budget, which is set at $412 billion for the current 2021-2017 period.
The plan would also tap private capital via the European Investment Bank and by speeding up the creation of the Savings and Investment Union which aims to a single financing market within the EU with no internal borders.
The initiative comes amid a rapidly evolving new realpolitik in which Europe faces having to shoulder a much larger share, if not all, of the responsibility for its security, but also providing all of Ukraine's military requirements to stay afloat in its struggle with Russia, and figuring out how to pay for it all.
The continent has been diverting interest on more than $210 billion of frozen Russian assets to help pay for Ukraine's defense, but British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is pushing for Europe to go further and seize the assets and hand it to the United States to buy the advanced U.S. military equipment, support and logistics so essential to Ukraine's military viability.
Liberal (read Labour) proverb: "The Ends Justify the Means". In other words, criminal activity is good if you get your way in the end. This is godlessness and evil.
However, the proposal is opposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the European Central Bank. They fear it would establish a damaging precedent in breach of internationally observed protections of sovereign assets and create a chilling effect on eurozone investment, scaring off potential big investors like Saudi Arabia and China.
==================================================
Is Tusk really this dumb, or does he have some vested interest in the War Industry?
EU must win arms race – Poland
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for Europe to escalate its military buildup, claiming Russia will “lose” like the USSR
The EU must escalate its military buildup and win the arms race against Russia, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. This comes amid growing efforts by EU leaders to increase defense spending, citing what they describe as a threat from Moscow, which Russia has repeatedly denied.
Tusk’s remarks also come as US President Donald Trump and his administration increasingly push European NATO members to take greater responsibility for their own defense. Washington has suggested that Europe should rely less on US military aid, particularly regarding Ukraine, and instead ramp up its own military spending.
In a message posted on social media on Thursday, Tusk accused Moscow of starting a new arms race and insisted that Europe must respond.
“The war, the geopolitical uncertainty and the new arms race started by Putin have left Europe with no choice. Europe must be ready for this race, and Russia will lose it like the Soviet Union 40 years ago,” Tusk wrote, adding that from today, Europe will arm itself faster than Russia.
Did Putin start the arms race? According to Mother Merkel and Francois Hollande, Europe agreed to the Minsk Accord in 2014 for the sole purpose of buying time for Ukraine to build up its military. Consequently, it was Europe and NATO that started the arms race 8 years before Russia attacked Ukraine.
His comments follow recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has claimed that Russia poses a threat to the EU. Macron has urged the bloc to increase defense spending and has also proposed expanding Europe’s nuclear deterrence, potentially extending France’s nuclear umbrella to other EU countries in response to the perceived risks from Moscow.
Moscow has dismissed the accusations that it poses a military threat to Europe and has condemned Macron’s latest statement as “highly confrontational.” Russian President Vladimir Putin called Western claims of an impending Russian attack “nonsense.” He has also accused European leaders of stoking tensions and using the perceived Russian threat as a pretext to justify increased military spending.
In December, Putin also stressed that Russia does not want to be bogged down in an arms race, which would be detrimental to the social and economic development of the country. He warned, however, that Russia will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of itself and its allies.
And that seems to be the most sensible voice in Europe. And, no, I'm not a Putin fan, just a truth fan.
=====================================================
