Indian Council of World Affairs

Distinguished Experts on the Dias & Friends! 

Europe’s armament strategies sank post collapse of Soviet Union. Excessive reliance on the sole super-power, the US, for security, the foregrounding of economic agendas nationally and in external relations, and the proactive pursuit of normative agendas in Europe’s relations with the rest of the world led to European slumberness in the defense and military sector.

2.  There is considerable variation in the militarization postures of various European countries with France, Germany, the UK in the lead and the small countries of Europe like Albania and Malta significantly lagging. This status quo within Europe and in its equations with other big powers has significantly been ruptured with the Ukraine War. The Ukraine War has begun a transformative journey for Europe as far as its security and defense are concerned. Some are calling it a ‘geopolitical awakening’ which saw its first impulse in the Russia-Georgia war of 2008.

3.  Europe is now on a war-footing thanks to this ‘geopolitical awakening’. The twin shocks of Russian action in Ukraine and an erratic White House Administration have ended decades of complacency in Brussels and European capitals and finally forced them to confront the realities of the day. There has been a record increase in the overall defence spending in Europe with countries like Poland, the three Baltic countries and Germany primarily driving this militarization. The April 2025 SIPRI Report declared the ongoing European Re-Armament as the primary driver of the global increase in defense spending in 2024. With a 17% increase, driven by an overall increase in nearly all the European countries, Europe has even crossed the level recorded at the end of the Cold War.

4.  The 76^th NATO Summit in Hague which set an ambitious target of 5% spending on defense is also a step in this direction with more than 23 countries already touching the earlier agreed 2% threshold.

5.  Europe is now the primary supplier of military aid to Kiev with most of the military hardware being transferred to Ukraine coming through Europe-led defense procurements; though there have been some countries like Hungary which have not been particularly enthusiastic about supporting Ukraine.

6.  There is a growing realization in Brussels that the EU must evolve from its traditional economic bloc into a more strategic actor. This is also being seen in how the EU is approaching its relations with India off-lately. The public opinion in Europe largely backs this evolution as seen in many surveys. The re-armament gives Europe an opportunity to emerge as an autonomous player in global geo-politics sans the crutches of the US. However, the larger issue of the European integration project and peace and stability on the continent, independent of or at the expense of peace and stability in the rest of the world, remains to be sufficiently analyzed and addressed.

7.  We have put together an excellent panel to discuss this theme today chaired by Amb Gurjit Sigh (former Ambassador of India to Germany). I look forward to thoughtful discussions and I wish the Panelists all the best.

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