IIt took two years of war on its doorstep for the European Union to think about equipping itself with a “war economy”. Two years since the start of Russian aggression in Ukraine, two years during which Europe, alongside its allies, has struggled to provide arms and ammunition by drawing on its existing capabilities. Two years at the end of which it is urgent to take the necessary means so that the expression “war economy” takes on its full meaning. It is therefore a question of increasing support for Ukraine immediately, and of laying the foundations of a war economy to respond to the threats of destabilization posed by President Vladimir Putin’s Russia towards Europe. We will thus be able to strengthen Europe’s capacity to preserve peace on our continent. And for that we cannot wait two years. Now is the time to act.
Europe must adapt and immediately build a war economy, both in terms of defense and in other areas. Much of Europe’s production capacity, institutions, legal and administrative procedures have not evolved since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.
Measures must be taken quickly in order to accelerate the production of strategic products, to secure the construction of energy, telecommunications, cyber and even transport infrastructures which we lack today. The composition of the budgets has not changed and does not allow us to provide the efforts required to support a war economy. With our current procedures, it was not in 1944 that the Americans would have landed in Normandy, it was not in 1941 that De Gaulle’s free army would have set out but several years later…
Loans and financial guarantees
We must understand that the wars launched by Vladimir Putin, in 2008 in Georgia, in 2014 in Donbass and in 2022 against Ukraine, pose a growing threat to European democracies, our security, our political institutions, our economies and our companies.
Europe must urgently adapt to this new reality. It must adopt a law similar to the Defense Protection Act. This text, adopted by the American Congress in 1950, allows rapid action to reduce shortages of military equipment, or any other good considered essential to defense. Thus, the American president can order private companies to respond as a priority to government orders. The Defense Protection Act also allows the State to support the production of certain critical businesses, goods or industries or to require the installation of certain equipment in production factories. Loans and financial guarantees necessary for these achievements can finally be granted by the State under this text. This is what enabled the launch in 2020 of Operation Warp Speed to fight Covid-19.
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