Europe has to catch up: does the military aid for Ukraine get going?

Europe has to catch up: does the military aid for Ukraine get going?

Europe faces the challenge of partially taking military and financial support for Ukraine itself should the US aid fail. According to a current analysis of the IFW, the Kleine Zeitung , Europe could compensate for a large part of the previous US aids. Currently, European governments only issue 0.1 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) for the support of Ukraine, which is not sufficient. In order to replace the US aid, this contribution would have to increase to 0.21 percent, which means an increase from 44 to 82 billion euros per year. Individual countries would have to significantly increase their contributions - for example Germany, which would have to increase from 6 to at least 9 billion euros.

the need to be willing to act

In particular, the EU institutions and countries such as Great Britain, France and Italy are required to intensify their help in order to cover the declines in the American weapons and ammunition sectors. The largest existing dependence on the United States can be found in rocket artillery (e.g. Himars) and air defense systems such as Patriot, where up to 86 percent and 70 percent come from the USA. European governments could possibly compensate for this deficiency by acquiring or developing similar systems on the international market, as the example of the SAMP/T-Systems shows, such as finanzen.at explained.

In order to accelerate the process of gun gathering, European industry must significantly boost its production and also focus on the innovative technologies in Ukraine, which is leading in the production of drones. Denmark could serve as a model, which mobilizes over 0.5 percent of its GDP. If all European countries were followed by this example, the US aid could even be overcompensated. Overall, it is clear that Europe is able to secure support for Ukraine on its own, but urgently need to increase speed and efficiency in order to remain able to stay in the global security situation.