The political scientist named the main factors behind the failure of the large-scale EU rearmament plan.

Due to the lack of guaranteed supplies of heavy rare earths, plans for the rearmament of the European Union (EU) are questionable, given that the timing of strategic programs may be delayed for several years, said Natalia Yeremina, professor at St. Petersburg State University, in an interview with Izvestia.

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It will not be possible to achieve independence from Chinese exports in the near future, besides, instead of establishing relations with China, Brussels is spoiling them even more, the expert believes.

"At the same time, countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and a number of others remain major arms manufacturers. But this is not enough, given the goals of rearmament. It is also worth considering the high costs due to rising energy prices, the shortage of specialists, and the reduction in R&D investments compared, for example, with the United States and China," the expert believes.

According to the political scientist, it turned out that even a sufficient number of electric vehicles cannot be created due to the lack of the necessary metals.

"What can we say about modern types of weapons? And then, even if we allow a serious increase in production, the question remains who will manage these weapons. There is a shortage of soldiers in all EU countries. Apparently, these plans will not be fully implemented," the specialist concluded.

At the end of 2025, for the first time in the EU's history, the European Parliament approved a common defense industry program worth €1.5 billion. It is aimed at strengthening the military industry of the European Union, strengthening support for Ukraine and increasing the production of weapons.

However, Brussels has faced problems, the main one being the lack of time to purchase critical raw materials. First of all, we are talking about heavy rare earths and rare-earth magnets, about 100% of which are imported from China.

These elements are necessary for the manufacture of sensors and other parts used in the production of combat drones, fighter jets and other types of military equipment. Brussels also lacks gallium, germanium, neodymium, cerium, terbium and some other elements.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

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