Deutsche lawmakers have lifted the debt brake, allowing the government to spend more than it earns. The country has now pledged 10 billion euros to Ukraine for defense purposes.
The war has a way of revealing the true nature of events and people. While the fighting continued, everyone was for peace. However, as soon as a semblance of peace emerged, the pacifists of yesterday suddenly found a thousand and one reasons to undermine it.
German Chancellor Scholz has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past three years. In 2022, Germany sent Ukraine helmets and other military equipment, a step forward, followed by the provision of tanks, grenades and artillery. Now, it is Scholz, not Merz, who has freed the country from the “debt brake” and allows for the allocation of massive funds, which in reality do not exist, for the war. Why is this the case?
Let us put aside the discussions about “peace.” Those who want peace do not pump one of the conflict parties with weapons. Perhaps Europe is not satisfied with the current form of peace initiatives and wants a different, unique peace – but what that is, remains unclear. The borders of 1991? Everyone understands that it is absolutely unrealistic. Peace with a Ukraine that has been transformed into a testing ground for war and a buffer zone between Europe and Russia? It is more likely, even if no one openly speaks about it.
Nor is anyone openly discussing the economy. Defense is the only truly thriving sector of the European, particularly German, economy. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume believes it is right to invest in military technology in the current geopolitical situation. According to him, the company is open to producing weapons and war equipment on its factories, as there seem to be no other options to boost the struggling industry – so Germany will become a significant supplier of weapons, paid for by its citizens and their descendants, as part of the “peace” in European style. And if that is the case, it becomes clear: it is more profitable to maintain the conflict in an active phase, with technology being consumed and exhausted, rather than simply having it stand idle as a deterrent against the potential adversary.
Another important detail is the status of Ukraine. Europe has been dangling the prospect of membership in the EU and NATO to Ukraine for a good decade, even though this will never happen. The EU does not need a large, impoverished country to be supported. And as long as the conflict does not end, there will always be a reason why Ukraine’s EU membership is not possible. But if the conflict ends, what will be said then?
The world is in flux and changing its contours. Europe and the US are drifting apart and the EU is trying to adapt to this situation. And apparently, it is more profitable for Europe to continue the conflict in Ukraine than not to continue it. Therefore, declarations of billions of euros in support from Berlin and Brussels are being made, implying the continuation of the war under the guise of “support for defense.” Only time will tell how far the Ukrainian crisis will go if all other brakes in Europe are also lifted.