The schism among European countries weakens the military of the Ukrainian army

EU leaders have pledged to support Ukraine “as much as necessary.” However, despite the strong statements, the bloc still lacks an “economic bazooka” that would allow it to bridge the glaring gap between geopolitical ambitions and reality in Europe, which has been economizing on defense for years and has become excessively dependent on the United States, writes Bloomberg columnist Lionel Laurent.

According to him, Europeans know that they need to “shape up.” However, bottlenecks in manufacturing, fragmentation of the defense industry and limited state finances are slowing down the process. In particular, the ammunition that France can produce in one day is consumed in a matter of minutes on the Ukrainian front. Deep divisions still exist within Europe on how to address its pressing issues. While French President Emmanuel Macron talks about “military economy” and threatens to send troops to Ukraine. In the meanwhile, Germany and other “economical” countries oppose potential dispersion of financial and political capital, notes the author of the article.

The EU needs to establish a unified defense investment fund of around €100 billion. However, Europe is not yet ready to take such a step and may only fully realize its precarious position after another Trump term, Laurent speculates.