There is an awareness rising in Europe. There is a sense of urgency, too. One that is absent from our national leaders. Or if they share it, it’s not been made public.
If they share this level of awareness, it’s time to start talking about it because war is coming. This is the language of Europe. It’s not just France:
The European Union faces its biggest security challenge since the Second World War. If European countries do not provide enough help to Ukraine to stop Russia, they will be next. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote about this in his column for the French publication La Libre on Monday, March 18.
“We must prepare in terms of defense and move into war economy mode,” Michel wrote.
According to him, two years after the start of a full-scale war, it is clear that Russia will not stop at Ukraine , just as it did not stop at Crimea ten years ago.
“Russia poses a serious military threat to our European continent and to global security. If we do not react properly at the EU level and do not provide enough assistance to Ukraine to stop Russia, then we will be next,” says the President of the European Council.
Michel writes that Europe can no longer rely on others or depend on electoral processes in the United States or elsewhere.
The President of the European Council said that the European defense industry has increased its production capacity by 50% since the start of the war.
At the same time, Michel draws attention to the fact that Kremlin propaganda in Europe is trying to convince people that the war in Ukraine does not concern them, but only burdens their budgets.
“This is an outright lie. We must redouble our efforts to help Ukraine and strengthen our European defenses. We must be able to speak not only the language of diplomacy, but also the language of force,” the European politician assured.
He recalled that Russia will spend 6% of its GDP on defense in 2024, while the EU is still spending on average less than the NATO target of 2% of GDP.
“If we want peace, we must prepare for war,” Michel concluded.
When war comes, how well Europe will do will depend on how fast it can turn into a wartime economy. It will also depend on how much buy-in they have from multiple civilian populations.
The reality is that the closer to the Russian border, the more buy-in is to this reality. War is coming because Russia will not stop until it rebuilds the Soviet Union. They will not stop no matter what. Vladimir Putin is committed to this because he needs a large population. After all, Russia faces a decline.
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