Europe finally wakes up from its military sleep

Europe finally wakes up from its military sleep

It was a television attack that many in Europe hope to prevent a war. Donald Trump's sharp criticism of the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj in the White House was a lightning strike for the transatlantic alliance and triggered long -cherished illusions in Europe about whether their American ally will support them in the fight against Russian aggression.

a rethink in Europe

under shock, maybe even in fear, seems to have finally thought about its self -defense needs in the Trump era. "It is as if Roosevelt Churchill had received in the White House and started to harass him," European legislator Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN.

Taboos break in the defense area

in a month in which US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth Europe described Europe as "pathetic" in a group chat with government representatives because it would rely on the defense of others, the continent has broken decades of taboos in defense. Politics were discussed that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago.

The biggest change took place in Germany, the largest economy in Europe. After the Bundestag election, the designated Chancellor Friedrich Merz won a Parliament Votes to abolish the "debt brake" - a mechanism to limit the public debt.

a new era for Germany

This change in law generally enables unlimited expenses for defense and security. Experts estimate that this could release up to 600 billion euros ($ 652 billion) for Germany over the next ten years. "This is a turning point in Europe, because Germany was the straggler - especially among the large countries - when it comes to defense," said Piotr Buras, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

By overcoming its debt of debt, Germany finally acted as if it had truly exceeded a "turn of time" or "point of view", said Buras. "Only the Trump shock led to this fundamental decision to suspend the debt brake," he added. "This is the real turn of the times."

changes in nuclear policy

In the neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron - who has long advocated a European "strategic autonomy" from the United States - has explained that he is considering expanding the protection of his nuclear arsenal to his allies. Macron's comments came after Merz had stimulated talks with France and the United Kingdom about the expansion of their nuclear protective guarantees.

The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed this idea and even asked Poland to consider the acquisition of nuclear weapons. In the meantime, Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, all the neighbors of Russia, have left the 1997 Ottawa Treaty on Landminen, which was long considered a milestone for the end of the mass war. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 country mines. Poland plans the production of 1 million country mines.

return to compulsory military service

Also the compulsory military service celebrated a comeback on the continent. Denmark took into account women from 2026 for mandatory conscription and reduced the health requirements for some roles to strengthen the country's armed forces. Poland has also announced plans that every adult man should go through military training.

themselves traditionally neutral countries rethink their positions. The Irish government, which has been involved in peacekeeping, brought in a legislative initiative that would make it possible to send troops without the United Nations' approval and thus to avoid a possible Russian or American veto.

new challenges and concerns

The turning point not only affects who will fight, but also who provides the weapons. Some have started to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive F-35 jets produced in the USA who wanted to acquire several European air forces. The Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said that his country examines the expected purchases of the Jets in favor of European alternatives due to the concerns about the controlled US delivery of spare parts.

challenges to European unity

Although Europe apparently understood the message, discussions about a uniform approach are still premature. When the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled a plan that was supposed to invest billions in defense, Spain and Italy had concerns. The plan has now been renamed "Readiness 2030".

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also excluded to send Italian troops as part of a European contingent to securing peace in Ukraine, in the event of a negotiating solution - another decisive topic on which the continent is split.

The renaming indicates a dividing line in Europe: the further a country from Russia, the less likely it is that it prioritizes weapons from butter. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month, "Our threat is not that Russia will bring its troops over the Pyrenees."

"The challenges in front of them are somewhat different from those with which the eastern flank is faced with," he added.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former Foreign Minister of Lithuania, commented on CNN angrily about the Spanish statements and noted that a recent visit to Kiev, where the air -raid shelter sirens sound the most nights, makes it too easy to imagine similar scenes in Vilnius in the future. "The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine something like this. All problems, all decisions are relative," said Landsbergis.

a positive conclusion?

Although this geographical split could deepen the differences, Buras from the ECFR expressed that total European unity would always be an "illusion". "What really matters is what the keylands do," he emphasized, pointing to Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Poland. "I want to be careful, but I think we're on the right track now."

When asked whether March will go into history as the month in which Europe woke up, Buras replied: "Yes, we have woken up - but now we have to get dressed."