Europe Needs More Than Money to Defend Itself
Bigger military budgets are coming. But how governments spend the windfall is as important as how much.
The Eurofighter shows cooperation is possible.
Photographer: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
Europe finally appears serious about rearming. German legislators have agreed to exempt defense from constitutional limits on debt spending. The European Commission is urging members to fund a “massive increase” in defense spending, offering leeway on fiscal rules and European Union-backed loans to fund weapons purchases — moves that could unlock more than €800 billion ($867 billion) in additional spending over four years.
If European leaders are to build truly capable militaries that no longer depend on the US, however, they’ll need to change how they spend on defense, not just how much.