Europe’s Dangerous Shift: The High Price of Militarisation

Introduction

The European Commission’s upcoming Defence White Paper marks a dangerous shift. As billions flow from social welfare to the arms industry, Europe edges closer to a war-driven economy. Leaders justify this as security, but in reality, it fuels militarisation, corporate profits, and rising tensions.

Rather than pursuing peace, EU institutions push for more defence spending and a Defence Union, deepening austerity for the many while enriching the few. Will Europe break free from this cycle, or surrender to the logic of war and militarised austerity?

Europe’s Dangerous Shift The High Price of Militarisation

Europe at a Crossroads: Rethinking Security and Defence

A European Commission White Paper on Defence, promised last summer by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, is due. Her announcement was driven by the ongoing Ukraine war, the vast sums of European money being provided for the war effort, and concerns by many member states about conflict expansion. The consequences for European defence of a second Trump presidency will have been on her mind, but Trump’s new policies seem to be harder-hitting than EU leaders expected.

Europe can no longer rely on the US for its defence. The US’s ongoing shift of focus from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, and its competition with China, has been stepped up sharply. So, Europe’s post-World War two security architecture is gone.

European institutions are looking for ways to compensate. Some member states are asking the European Investment Bank to enable more funding for the defence sector. Some call for a European Defence Union. While many urge more defence spending and a coordinated response to increasing threats, the big question is what kind of consensus will emerge.

Key areas covered in the White Paper are likely to be industrial capacity, military capabilities, and financing, with a big focus on the implications for industry. It’s clear that vast sums previously allocated for social spending will now be heading for the arms industry.

This time of great change, with massive shifts in the global geopolitical and economic balance, presents Europe with the opportunity to change course. Now’s the time for a new European security architecture, based on common security. The alternative is impoverishment of the European people in the interests of militarisation and war, and an increasingly dangerous and hostile environment.