Europe’s push to rearm has run into a series of snags. First, the European Council was not so interested in Commission President von der Leyen’s €150 billion ReArm Europe plan, even though, in terms of actual new spending, it was less than €86 billion. Then, there were issues with the nomenclature: Multiple leaders expressed concern with the seemingly violent name of a rearmament campaign. As a result, it was changed to Readiness 2030. This entire process has taken nearly a year, and the €150 billion has still yet to be unlocked. All of this is to say that – beyond the cheerleading on X, accompanied by declarations that now the EU will build its own army – no real military spending is forthcoming.
Not to worry though: If you go by the press, Germany is picking up the slack. The country’s spending “upends Europe’s power balance,” according to Politico Europe. The Atlantic highlighted “the new German war machine”. When discussing Chancellor Friedrich’s Merz’s “fantastic start,” The Economist said that Germany “can now start to rearm to a level where it can play the full part in the changed landscape of European defence.” A Bild report revealed that “hundreds of thousands” of jobs will result with German rearmament.
The problem is that this is all untrue and overstated.
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