Member states are divided over joint arms purchases, joint borrowing and the need for European buying.
Financing its rearmament is the EU’s difficult balance.
On the one hand public finances are in the red, on the other the Russian threat and the prospect of an American isolationist withdrawal loom over Europe.
“We have to create factories, we have to train people. So it doesn’t happen overnight,” recalls Philippe Perchoc, Director at IRSEM Europe, the European office of the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School.
Member states have put their hands in their pockets following the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022.
In 2024, defense spending of the 27 reached 326 billion euros, or 1.9% of EU GDP, according to the European Defense Agency (EDA). These expenses thus jumped by 31% compared to 2021.
In November, EU countries committed to developing joint military projects in areas such as air defense and electronic warfare.
For his part, the EU’s first defense and space commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, said the Union must reduce its dependence on the United States in defense matters.
Buy and produce together
In the wake of the war in Ukraine, different solutions are on the table to finance the continent’s defense such as joint production and purchases of weapons.
THE “starting point” must be the choice of joint spending in order to increase efficiency and profitability and reduce costs, believes Guntram Wolff, researcher at the Bruegel Institute.
THE “hypersonic missiles, air defense, satellites, drones”“If we work together in these areas, we will really get more bang for our buck.”he assures Euronews.
However, the specific needs of Member States in terms of armaments sometimes hinder this form of cooperation.
France, for example, requires “a nuclear deterrent capability”, assures Jan Joel Andersson, Senior analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies.
Some expeditionary countries will prefer “lighter and easily transportable equipment” like armored vehicles and artillery, “while other countries have prepared to fight an enemy or adversary here in Europe and have therefore been more focused on heavy tanks and heavy artillery”, specifies the researcher to Euronews.
Borrow jointly
Joint borrowing, also called Eurobonds, could make it possible to finance rearmament.
“The idea of more common EU borrowing is the fact that many member states have problems with their national finances and here it would somehow be the way to fully utilize the power collective of the EU as a borrower to actually make borrowing cheaper”, explains Jan Joel Andersson.
However, supporters of budgetary orthodoxy like Germany remain reluctant to borrow jointly.
Should you “buy European”?
Some, like French President Emmanuel Macron, are calling for “buying European” in the name of strategic autonomy.
Others prefer to order elsewhere to reduce costs or delivery times.
“It’s not that we should only buy European, I don’t think anyone has that in mind, but we should perhaps revalue the part of what is European in what we buy”declared to Euronews Philippe Perchoc, Director at IRSEM Europe.
“What is manufactured elsewhere than in Europe, we do not have priority to consume it. We may sign a contract if conditions change, if something happens in the Indo-Pacific or in Taiwan, the Europeans will not have priority, so in fact we have to watch our backs.”estimates the researcher.
The role of the EU is, however, limited: defense is an exclusive competence of the States.