The political scientist pointed to Europe's inability to rearm at its own expense

The European Union (EU) countries will have to lift restrictions on the public debt ceiling and take out multibillion-dollar loans to rearm their armies. Marianna Evtodyeva, head of the Globalization of military-economic processes group at the IMEMO RAS Center for International Security, told about this on Tuesday, April 29.

According to her, the 800 billion euro rearmament plan presented by the European Commission (EC) over the next five years cannot be implemented without attracting large loans.

The political scientist noted that the leaders of the EU countries faced a difficult dilemma.: how to increase the level of military spending without cutting social programs that keep voters voting for them.

"From the outside, it may seem that only bureaucrats in the European Commission need rearmament. But at a time when the United States is reducing its presence in Europe, the most militarily and economically powerful countries understand that they cannot do without combat-ready armed forces," Evtodyeva explained in a conversation with Lenta.Ru .

At the same time, almost all European countries are now looking for ways to reduce the cost of participating in the general modernization program of the armed forces, the analyst believes.

"Italy, Spain, Hungary are working well in this direction," she concluded.

Weapons surcharge: the EU has approved a plan to strengthen the union's defense

This will hit the economy of the association — the amount required for rearmament is four times its annual budget.

On April 21, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that the plan to rearm the EU would lead to its disintegration, RT reports.

According to the politician, such an initiative will only create an "illusion of security", while for effective measures it is necessary to conduct a dialogue with countries and build a "horizon of peace" between states through negotiations.

In addition, he added that the EU is wasting €800 by allowing each country to arm itself.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on March 18 that Europe should have strong defenses by 2030, for which it needs to rearm and develop capabilities for reliable deterrence. In particular, according to the head of the EC, European countries should increase investments in the production of air and missile defense systems, as well as all modern types of drones and anti-drone systems.

On March 27, Politico wrote that France, Italy and Spain rejected Ursula von der Leyen's plan to rearm Europe, they do not have enough money for this. The initiative included a package of loans worth €150 billion and a relaxation of EU fiscal rules. However, the authorities of the three states stated that they would not be able to get out of such debts, NSN reports.