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Max Bergmann is a senior fellow on the Middle for American Progress and served as a senior adviser within the State Division from 2011-2017. Benjamin Haddad is the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Middle.
Russia’s aggression in opposition to Ukraine has modified the whole lot. With conflict again on the Continent as soon as once more, European safety can not be taken as a right — and leaders throughout the European Union have taken discover. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made historical past on Sunday, saying a dramatic improve in German army spending. And international locations like Sweden have damaged with neutrality, saying weapons supply to Ukraine. The EU is delivering some €500 million price of army gear to a celebration in battle – one thing that was unthinkable only some weeks in the past.
However whereas discuss of protection is affordable, really constructing a stronger army prices actual cash and political braveness. As Scholz acknowledged, a fast and large injection of funds is important to right away modernize European capabilities. Thankfully, there’s a precedent as to how this aim could possibly be achieved, and swiftly.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, EU leaders acknowledged the historic nature of the disaster, collectively — and efficiently — borrowing to fund the union’s financial restoration. And simply because the pandemic uncovered Europe’s financial vulnerabilities, the Russia-Ukraine disaster has uncovered its geopolitical vulnerabilities. It calls for an identical collective response.
The EU’s collective protection efforts to this point have been focused on the event of a “Strategic Compass” forward of a March assembly of the Council of the EU. However whereas the compass is a vital roadmap, what the EU and NATO urgently want are extra army capabilities.
To attain this shortly, the EU ought to develop a second NextGenerationEU, borrowing collectively as soon as once more, this time in an effort to spend money on protection and safety to the sum of €400 billion. Such a program might both purchase EU-owned capabilities or present matching funds to member international locations enhancing their protection capabilities, if the acquisitions match pre-agreed standards amongst its 27 members.
Such a transfer would even be an asset for the USA, so American policymakers ought to actively assist it. Not solely would it not make sure the U.S. has strong European allies, even because it maintains concentrate on the Indo-Pacific, it could additionally assist “promote” the transatlantic alliance domestically.
Europe could also be reassured by the strikes of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which has probably the most transatlanticist presidents in a long time on the helm, however the prioritization of China shouldn’t be going away anytime quickly — even with full-scale conflict occurring in Ukraine. Regardless of the U.S.’s huge $750 billion protection funds, protection planners there are already going through onerous selections about the place to deploy army belongings.
The U.S. wants the EU to step up as a protection actor and develop its personal built-in protection trade, as it could actually play a major position in strengthening NATO and decreasing the burden on U.S. army belongings. The crux of the issue is that few European international locations can afford high-end procurements on their very own, which creates a dependence on U.S. army belongings in NATO.
A NextGenerationEU fund for protection might assist tackle this by figuring out capabilities that Europe is at present missing and making vital acquisitions of high-end protection capabilities. As an illustration, the EU might assist fund the procurement of and keep air and missile protection methods that could possibly be deployed anyplace within the union. It might additionally purchase fleets of air transport and air refueling tankers, unmanned aerial autos and heavy-lift helicopters. The EU might even make investments in procuring new ships and submarines, as Europe can also be sorely missing naval capabilities.
With such a device, the EU might additionally assist fund the modernization of the militaries of Central and Jap European international locations, a lot of which nonetheless function growing older Soviet gear. These frontline nations by no means obtained an injection of funds to modernize their forces and have thus sought to take action in a piecemeal vogue, when as a substitute they need to have essentially the most superior gear doable. These international locations aren’t simply defending themselves, they’re defending Europe.
Throughout the Continent, European militaries are in disrepair. Few autos are able to roll, few planes able to fly, few ships able to sail. NATO’s greatest shortfall is land fight forces which are able to battle. This has created a major conundrum for European protection planners — make investments restricted sources in buying new high-end methods, or tackle the woeful readiness of present forces? With the EU spending on high-end acquisitions, European NATO member international locations will have the ability to focus extra on addressing their deficiencies.
The conflict in Ukraine is a turning level. It has given a brand new sense of objective to NATO, reaffirmed transatlantic unity and proven that Europeans can step up in solidarity and assist an embattled democracy. This second ought to assist us transfer past outdated taboos. A robust and sovereign EU is an asset for NATO, and the Biden administration ought to embrace tangible European ambitions. It’s time for the EU to behave.
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