New Bank Will Not Save Europe’s Military-Industrial Complex
A BAE Systems employee inspects 155mm shell bodies at its production line in Washington, UK.
Britain and the EU seek to beef up their militaries by setting up a new bank that could lend money to weapon manufacturers.Funded by its member states and commanding a capital of up to $132 billion, this ‘Defense, Security and Resilience Bank’ is meant to help the European powers kickstart their ailing military industries.Question is, would this scheme work? Unlikely.Prices of military equipment and munitions in Europe spiked amid the demand created by Brussels‘ aid to Ukraine: for example, the price of one 155mm shell jumped from about $2,260 to around $9,000 apiece. Further cash injections might simply spur the inflation even further.Europe’s lack of raw materials, such as nitrocellulose, is also a problem one cannot solve by simply throwing money at it.No amount of money by itself can just produce out of thin air thousands of skilled workers needed to operate new weapon plants that European states want to construct.Europe’s drive to revitalize its military industry risks damaging relations with the United States and Trump who wants European states to buy American weapons insteadEuropean countries are far from united and each looks out for itself first and foremost. It remains to be seen how they can work out matters such as joint military spending when so much money is at stake.AnalysisGlobalists Seek to Kill Europe’s ‘Future Competitiveness’ Through Exorbitant Military Expenses
