It took two years of war on its doorstep for the European Union to think about developing a “war economy.” Two years since the start of Russian aggression in Ukraine, two years during which Europe, alongside its allies, has struggled to supply arms and munitions, drawing on its existing capacities. Two years, at the end of which it is urgent to provide the necessary resources for the expression “war economy” to take on its full meaning. This means increasing support for Ukraine immediately and laying the foundations for a war economy to respond to the destabilizing threats posed by President Vladimir Putin’s Russia to Europe. This is how we can strengthen Europe’s ability to preserve peace on our continent. And we cannot wait two years for this. The time to act is now.
Europe must adapt and build a war economy without delay, in defense as in other areas. A large portion of Europe’s production capacity, institutions, and legal and administrative procedures have not evolved since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Measures must be taken quickly to accelerate the production of strategic products and to secure the construction of the energy, telecommunications, cyber and transport infrastructures that we lack today. The composition of our budgets has not changed and does not allow us to make the efforts required to sustain a war economy. With our current procedures, the Americans would not have landed in Normandy in 1944, and De Gaulle’s Free Army would not have set off in 1941 but several years later.
Loans and financial guarantees
We need to understand that the wars launched by Putin, in 2008 in Georgia, in 2014 in the Donbas and in 2022 against Ukraine, pose a growing threat to European democracies, our security, our political institutions, our economies and our societies.
Europe must urgently adapt to this new reality. It must adopt legislation similar to the Defense Protection Act. Adopted by the US Congress in 1950, this legislation enables rapid action to be taken to reduce shortages of military equipment or any other asset deemed essential for defense. Accordingly, the US President can order private companies to fulfill government orders as a matter of priority. The Defense Protection Act also enables the government to support the production of certain critical companies, goods or industries or to demand the installation of specific equipment in production plants. Loans and financial guarantees required for these projects can also be granted by the State under the law. This is what enabled the launch in 2020 of Operation Warp Speed to combat Covid-19.
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