Summary
European officials are preparing a multibillion-dollar defense package to bolster regional security and support Ukraine, announced by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Munich Security Conference.
The package, potentially valued up to 700 billion euros, will fund military training, arms deliveries, and security guarantees amid concerns over Russian aggression and diminishing U.S. contributions to NATO.
The move follows calls for Europe to boost its own defense spending while U.S.-Russian talks, which exclude Ukraine and Europe, on ending the Ukraine conflict continue.
Thank you, Europe. God, let this be what Ukraine needs.
They also need to cut the US out of any involvement in Ukraine
We (EU) should have unleashed our defense industry 3 years ago. Hopefully, the US MIC received the message, their profits are going to sink unless the orange turd starts to provide military aid to fucking Russia.
Hey I’m American and I’m all for EU paying for the war in perpetuity and for our mic sinking all the way to the bottom on Mariana trench.
This is the best thing about a Donald Trump presidency: sometimes good things happen by accident, and it’s definitely a good thing for the EU to be depending less on the US.
Same thing that happened with Canada. This man is so stupid it’s coming full circle
It’s a bit premature to announce this, but yes VonderLeyen has announced the preparation of a defense package of approx. 700 B via this legal fiscal venue. Together with the EU Competitiveness Compass plan at around a minimum of 750 B, they will likely be aimed to reinforce each other. In addition, other parallel plans are being prepared, pending current developments.
added: Context: EU defense is now at 326 B in 2024 (consilium EU). Though Europe also includes UK and other countries ofcourse.
This newly announced extra package is like a minimum extra budget.
I know a way to increase the support even more than that:
Donate to https://u24.gov.ua
This is great but IMHO they really need to start building industrial capacity to produce millitary stuff as well. Money’s no use when nobody wants to sell you weapons for it…
A brilliant move from Europe.
About time they pull their weight
Insane
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Yeah! Down with democracy! Bring back feudalism!
Pretty sure feudal peasants were living happier than us now.
They weren’t.
Mostly.
Anyone downvoting should pack his bags and join the front because ukraine is running out of men
I think democracy is a good thing, therefore I should join the Ukrainian military?
If you think democracy is a good thing you should realize that there’s none anymore and ukraine is under martial law.
Go on. Tell me about how there’s nothing democratic about Switzerland or Iceland.
Switzerland is a known tax heaven that laundry money worldwide including these of russians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Leaks
Iceland is an island with less than 300k people
Neither thing has anything to do with democracy. You claimed there are no more democracies. Please explain how Switzerland and Iceland are not democracies.
Flying squid you are picking up two irrelevant countries as switzerland and iceland because you know all the others to be corrupted as fuck. Democracy is being eroded worldwide in the same way: government are getting unlimited power and control over people and a bunch of rulers own all mass media.
Personally I’d go if they just let me. I’m a reserve sergeant with strong will to actually do something, knowing full well I will perish there, and cry for mommy in a ditch, or something else entirely, as of yet unimaginable to me.
Defense is something I accept and will always help with if I just can, if the cause is right. Other kinds of war or violence? I’d rather go to jail than participate. In defense of gender minorities, people with mental health issues struggling as it is, when we now have great support networks and financial help guaranteeing housing, food, electricity, everything necessary, I would face the horrifying prospect of unimaginable pain and fear, desperation, so that those that do not wish to, or can’t, do not have to.
I have strength and vitality some do not have. And if the only thing standing between the peaceful, at least good enough life they (we!) now have, is the sacrifice of those just selfless enough to face horrors, I’d feel bad letting them do it without me, if and when I am capable to help.
But this is only as long as the thing we’d defend is worth defending. Our current state definitely is. I’m openly pan-sexual enby, and nobody looks at me twice. I get to work, study, participate in society just like most everyone do. If that is in danger, I won’t sit down and wait for them to come for me and my kin.
But I also don’t think anyone else should be forced to do that, unless they really do want to and understand the horrors of what it will be.
I have the benefit of military training and familiarity with guns and warfare in general (in theoretical level, though, which is still better than nothing), so I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t put those to use in defense of my fellow minorities often persecuted elsewhere.
But this is only as long as the thing we’d defend is worth defending.
What are you defending that is so precious to throw your live over like that? The orange man country and its mega corps oligarchs?
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/emma-goldman-preparedness-the-road-to-universal-slaughter
Definitely not. The orange man and the US in general is equal in my eyes to Russia. A bad, backwards place I would fight if it tried to thrust its diseased member into my current life and surroundings.
Instead, I’d give a lot for what I have now: The relative safety and social progress, as well as the socialist elements such as our guaranteed welfare for everyone without gotchas or requirements, the general atmosphere of acceptance towards sexual and gender minorities etc.
A lot of reasons to “throw my life away”. The life wouldn’t be worth much if I couldn’t be myself, if I couldn’t survive and thrive even when unable to work or function. So I’d rather go fighting for those as opposed to bending over to get fucked either way.
Oh, the irony. You’re here, cheerleading for conscription from the comfort of your keyboard, while accusing others of armchair opinions. If Ukraine’s running out of men, maybe it’s time to question why this proxy war keeps demanding human sacrifices instead of solutions.
Blind allegiance to this endless cycle of funding and fighting doesn’t make you noble—it makes you complicit. Pack your own bags if you’re so invested, but don’t expect others to march for a game they didn’t sign up to play.
say that to the people who downvoted you buddy, i’m not team stupid
Imagine spending 700 billions in useful things and not to fight a proxy war against russia.
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And this is if we only strictly try and think about this fiscally. The human, social and moral side only expands from this, and are much more important, too.
Says the pro russian
The sentiment is understandable and in a naive sense I agree, but the paradox of tolerance applies here, and it’s not so straight forward.
Sometimes you just have to punch a nazi in order to stop them getting too comfortable and getting bold. Well, right now the equivalent of the nazis here are, and have been, emboldened for over a decade, and it’s unfortunately going to take a lot of punches to stop them swallowing everyone whole and imposing even worse environments and even more poverty for all.
Here’s the paradox of tolerance to you: we are ruled by maniacs corrupted by money and power who seek war and chaos as a leverage to get more wealth and fuel their insanity. We either stop them and oppose their military spending or we are all ending up in a meat grinder fighting one against the other.
Yeah, well, say we successfully block any further military spending here in the eu.
Is Russia going to stop their spending? USA?
No?
Then what will we do when they come for us next?
This wouldn’t be a factor if our nations were almost alike and no practical changes would occur should they conquer majority of Europe, but most of Europe is comparatively in another sphere in terms of progressiveness and social stuff. Compared both to USA and Russia.
Would the 700bn used, right now, in some better causes be worth it, if in somewhat near future we’ll have our minorities in concentration camps, killed or expelled? Our social systems torn to shreds, poverty and income differences rising? The authoritarian/oligarch rule we’d get then would spend that 700bn in many multiples in warfare, but also similar amounts extra for police and other oppressive powers to silence any and all opposition.
I’m just saying there are things worth defending, such as lgbtq+ rights, (comparatively much more progressive and universal) social equality and you know, the basics such as low levels of impoverishment, guaranteed housing for everyone, quality and unhindered education etc etc.
Then what will we do when they come for us next?
Even if you assume the whole world is trying to invade you (which is not true) you can defend yourself even without a government spending billions on war designed to murder other people.
Would the 700bn used, right now, in some better causes be worth it, if in somewhat near future we’ll have our minorities in concentration camps, killed or expelled? Our social systems torn to shreds, poverty and income differences rising? The authoritarian/oligarch rule we’d get then would spend that 700bn in many multiples in warfare, but also similar amounts extra for police and other oppressive powers to silence any and all opposition.
You are describing the scenario you don’t want to happen. Our social system is torn to shred already, poverty and income differences are rising and billions are going to oppressive powers such as the military
Russia literally said they want to take an entire list of places where 100M people live and make them Russia. The US said it intended to take CA and Greenland.
Anyone willing to stand up to defend these places would end up in a war. If everyone abandons their neighbors then there is absolutely no reason for Russia, the US, and China to divide up the world between them. These are people with their own plans, nations, cultures who don’t want to choose whose boot to live under. The only way to do this is to be able to fight.
The thing is, there are no ideal options here. While the 700bn goes to violence, at least in my country I know for a fact it goes to defense, since we very explicitly have no general armed forces, only defense forces. The same is not true for Russia or the US.
But I suppose you are right in that it depends on the specific country. I’m from a progressive social democracy, the world’s happiest people multiple years in row according to some studies, so it’s easy for me to say I’d rather choose the current situation over getting Russia or US conditions here… but maybe the same is not true for all European countries. There are many, after all, and in case of Hungary, for example, I would probably feel the same as you. There wouldn’t be much of a difference, just the flavor of who gets to oppress you and your people.
But there is no choice here, in my country, in which the current social situation remains as good as it is here, and in which we also do not spend any money on defense, local as well as Europe at large.
If the choice is between oppressive leadership, I’d much rather choose my current flavor. People can be who they are here, there’s no militia silencing our voices, and while things could be better in a million different ways, they also could be so much worse, as demonstrated by the two dickswingers, Russia and USA.
In an ideal world we would not spend on violence. I agree with that. It’s a waste. It leads to people dying, especially innocents. But it’s not an ideal world. And until it is, the choice has to be between different flavors of bad, I suppose, and personally I would 100% always choose the flavor in which I feel safe, happy and supported as a gender identity and sexual minority with mental health problems and adhd. And I would hope that most would do the same.
Because the alternative is just going to be fatal for me, at least, and a lot of people like me.
Edit: And yeah, you can pick out my points and their details in many ways, but the fact that the alternative can be picked out in so many more ways, remains. It’s all relative. I don’t see it as a good option to sacrifice good, just because it is not perfect, and get an outright horrible outcome. I’d much rather just try and help things remain at least good…
Edit2: Also, to address the “everybody wants to invade you” part: The US has declared it will start expansion and assimilate parts of other sovereign countries. One of those being part of Europe… An European country is currently deep in a defense war against a nation that has also declared that letting my country gain independence was a mistake and that is listed in multiple writings of prominent leadership members as one of the next countries that will be part of Russia “again”. So I don’t think everyone wants to invade us, not by a long shot. But there are countries that have been very explicit in their want, or even need, to fucking invade us and start enrussificating us.
The fact that you aren’t even considering these things, things that are well known and plainly and openly broadcast by these dickswingers, in some cases for many decades now, just tells me that you fail to understand what it actually is like being an openly stated target of assimilation. You make it a joke, as if nobody ever wants to conquer anyone, but it’s just fucking fantasy to think that. Right now, the same country that has stated my country “is in fact” part of their country, is, in real time, fighting a war of assimilation not too far from our borders… I get that this might not be close to you, you may live somewhere far away and don’t know this, but it hits a bit different when you are actually here. I can’t even imagine what it is like for Ukraine…
I do hope you could also try and expand your point of view and gain some perspective. The world is fairly shit in terms of things like this. Pretending otherwise won’t change that. The moment you blink, the nazis and oligarchs just do what they already have told you, over and over, what they will do. And next thing you know, you are being raped in a prison for being “a deviant” and your murder is then hidden away as your peers continue to face this reality.
