Implication of Europe Re-Arming?

At an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, the EU member states decided to boost their defense spending and fund a massive rearmament push. Debt rules are to be relaxed for military investments and up to 150 billion euros are to be made available in EU loans. A declaration on further support for Ukraine was adopted without Hungary’s participation. What the European press is saying.

Europe has woken up

The EU is rising to the challenges it now faces, La Libre Belgique comments approvingly:

France and Germany are overcoming some of their reservations, particularly budget ones, and have succeeded in imposing a dynamic that marks a real turning point. For the first time the bloc is ceasing to be an economic power paralyzed by its military impotence and reasserting itself as a credible strategic player. The announced 800 billion euros is not just a figure, it’s a message: that of a Europe that refuses to be a leaf blown about by the geopolitical winds, a Europe that intends to defend its values and protect its citizens. ... This EU still knows how to stand united when the essentials are at stake.

Others in charge now

The EU is in danger of landing itself on the sidelines, Austria’s Kleine Zeitung warns:

Every step requires a hard-won compromise, every proposal has to go through the mill of joint decision-making. Every sentence is weighed on the diplomatic scales. ... All of this looks weak. ... In sum: not the EU but the “coalition of the willing” - a London-based fusion of Nato and EU countries united in a common cause - is in charge of the operation. At best, the EU can provide the basics, such as the financing package for rearmament and further support for Ukraine, and summits like the one in Brussels.

Time for more honesty

The hypocrisy has come to an end, Switzerland’s Aargauer Zeitung writes:

For decades the Europeans have made themselves comfortable in their cushy welfare states. From a safe distance they railed against the villains of this world and paid lip service in response to the calls of their US allies to do more for their security. When you have the world’s strongest military power behind you, you don’t have to worry about your own weaknesses. ... With self-empowerment comes self-determination. ... And will the US under President Trump like it when a militarily stronger Europe increasingly speaks with its own voice? Of course not. But at least then there will be less need for hypocrisy.

Perhaps the last veto

It won’t be so easy for Viktor Orbán to block things anymore, Hungary’s 444.hu predicts:

With an alternative form of European cooperation already taking shape in recent days, Thursday’s emergency summit was probably the last opportunity for Orbán to cause real disruption. ... The new coalition of the willing could take the initiative away from the European Council - which requires full consensus - on key issues that are crucial for Europe’s future. This means that Orbán’s veto threats could lose their impact. However, that was not the case at yesterday’s summit, where Orbán did real damage with his veto.

Seek long-term cooperation with Russia

The rearmament offensive is far too expensive at the European level, news website TVXS puts in:

The only solution that will truly benefit the citizens of Europe is to first of all secure peace in Ukraine and integrate Russia into a new system of European collective security. This solution would reduce weapons stockpiles instead of increasing them, as the EU leadership plans to do. Because those plans completely disregard the fact that increasing military spending to three percent of GDP - which is still less than the five percent that Trump is demanding from Nato countries - will lead to unpopular cuts and an even greater surge of the far right.

See the original here.