Archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/zRSLH
EU member states will not be able to spend €150bn of new funding for defence on US weapons, as Brussels seeks to rapidly increase the continent’s security while also developing its domestic arms industry.
The European Commission has proposed borrowing the €150bn worth of loans against the EU budget for member states to spend on weapons, as part of a push by European capitals to rapidly increase their defence capabilities in response to Donald Trump’s return as US president.
“These loans should finance purchases from European producers, to help boost our own defence industry,” commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European parliament on Tuesday.
That means the cash would only be spent on weapons from EU nations and other like-minded European countries such as the UK, Norway and Switzerland, said officials briefed on her thinking.
US military hardware is top notch. But the US has shown itself to be an unreliable ally. So spending that money at home, supporting the local economy where the money will ultimately flow back to the governments via taxes. Also there is almost nothing the US makes that we don’t or can’t make here with a few exceptions like the F-22 or X-37 (AKA the satellite snatcher).