"Europe is making a big mistake," U.S. media: Rapid military rearmament by the EU may lead to "regression instead of progress" and "mutual damage."

Source: Global Times

[Global Times reporter Li Ziyu] "Europe is making a big mistake," the U.S. "New York Times" published an article on June 30 with this title, stating that the EU's rapid rearmament may lead to "regression instead of progress" and "mutual damage", thus causing a historic error. Previously, the EU held a summit in Brussels, Belgium on the 26th. The outcome statement released at the meeting showed that the European Council will continue to significantly increase European defense and security spending.

EU flag, photo from foreign media

The article analyzes that throughout Europe, policymakers are leaning towards a single strategy, hoping to achieve "two birds with one stone". On one hand, increasing military spending would protect Europe from the "threat" of Russia and reduce its reliance on the United States, ultimately consolidating its "great power status". On the other hand, under the pressure of competitors and rising energy costs, it would revitalize Europe's struggling industrial sector. This view holds that investing heavily in the military is a solution to the dual crises of geopolitical vulnerability and economic stagnation.

However, the article mentions that these expectations are likely to be "delusions". Efforts by Europe to militarize face problems in scale and efficiency, and they are unlikely to work on their own. But the danger they bring is greater than the risk of failure.

Russia's Sputnik News interpreted the article, stating that large-scale funding provided by EU countries to the military field could overload the "limited budgets" of nations, thereby competing for funds for social programs and infrastructure development. "By focusing only on defense and ignoring everything else, the EU risks regression instead of progress. Rapid rearmament will not bring significant progress, but rather may cause a historic mistake," the New York Times wrote.

The New York Times concluded in the end that, following the current path, Europe will neither move toward a "military Keynesianism" with social benefits nor establish a defense strategy matching its "great power" ambitions. Instead, Europe faces the risk of "mutual damage": weak economic recovery, lack of long-term growth prospects, and huge defense spending making it unable to match other countries.

Previously, at the NATO summit that ended on June 25, NATO leaders reached an agreement on future defense spending targets, deciding to raise annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Some countries that are members of both NATO and the EU believe that achieving the 5% target is challenging.

Spain has become the focus because it refused to increase its annual defense spending to 5% of GDP as required by the United States. Spain's "El País" openly stated that Madrid is "almost fighting alone" in resisting American pressure. Spain's recent "hard stance" on defense spending is related to its anti-war tradition, as well as its political and economic considerations. Spain's First Deputy Prime Minister Montero recently stated that the government cannot misappropriate resources that are crucial for most citizens, using them for "military policies with unclear purposes."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7521709538379186723/

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