Europe’s dilemma: Build a military industry or keep relying on the US

There are essentially two schools of thought as Europe embarks on a military spending binge, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank focused on the European Union. One view, strongly held by French officials and the EU institutions, is to restrict the use of Europe’s funds for the longer-term priority of building its defense industry. That is especially important so that Europeans are not overly dependent on an American ally that some feel they can no longer trust.

The other view, shared by the Nordic and Baltic nations and Poland, is that Europe needs capabilities now to help Ukraine and should spend in a less protectionist way. “They believe that we can’t be idealists but need to act now and spend now for Ukraine,” Mr Grant said.