800 billions for war, zero for the people: the mask of the "liberals" falls down

+ Germany ready to take the lead in the militarisation of Europe + Everything is at stake

Today I am providing my English translation of 3 articles, all originally in Italian.
(All emphasis and footnotes mine).

The first one, by Fabrizio Verde, was published on L’AntiDiplomatico.org on Wednesday 5th March 2025.

800 billion for war, zero for the people: the mask of the ‘liberals’ falls down

Ursula von der Leyen.

The rhetoric of fear, the cult of rearmament, the race for military investments: this is the face of today's Europe, a Europe that has stopped hiding its warmongering drift behind the screen of democratic values and peace. The “ReArm Europe” plan presented by Ursula von der Leyen, with its shameless €800 billion budget, is not only an act of political irresponsibility, but a clear signal of how the European establishment has now thrown off the mask, revealing its true face: that of a neo-liberal and militarist elite, ready to sacrifice the welfare of citizens on the altar of war and profit.

The folly of rearmament: 800 billions for war, zero for the people

The first point of the plan, the one that envisages €650 billion in military spending through exemptions to the Stability Pact, is a punch in the stomach for those who still insist on believing in a social Europe. For years the European Union has imposed draconian austerity policies on its member states, cutting public services, health, education, and welfare, all in the name of the sacred balance of budgets. The case of Greece is paradigmatic in this regard. Now, all of a sudden, those constraints are being removed, but not to invest in economic recovery, jobs or the material improvement of the living conditions of the peoples of Europe. No, that money will be used to buy weapons, to finance an arms race that will only fuel a new spiral of tension and conflict.

It is grotesque that, while European citizens face an unprecedented economic crisis, with galloping inflation and purchasing power in free fall, the European Commission finds a way to allocate hundreds of billions for defence. And it does so with cynical hypocrisy: the same technocrats who imposed austerity measures on southern European countries, destroying economies and increasing inequality, now stand up as champions of security, ready to empty the public coffers to finance a war that is not ours.

The mask of “liberals“

No wonder this plan has been greeted with enthusiasm by those so-called European “liberals” who, in reality, have always served the interests of the economic and financial elites. The appeal “For a Free and Strong Europe” launched by democrat Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and signed by figures such as Carlo Calenda and Raphaël Glucksmann is yet another demonstration of how European liberalism has turned into an extremist ideology, ready to sacrifice peace and social justice in the name of a militarist and neo-liberal agenda.

These self-styled defenders of “liberal democracies” talk about eliminating the right of veto and creating a common European defence, but they do not say a word about how this “strong” Europe should deal with the real emergencies: poverty, unemployment, the energy crisis caused by Brussels' insane green policies and self-sabotage regarding Russian energy sources. Their vision of a federal Europe is that of a super-state at the service of multinationals and the war industry, not of the people.

An anti-historical Europe: when the past does not teach

What is striking in this warmongering madness is the total lack of historical memory. Instead, Europe, which is supposed to be the continent of peace after two world wars and decades of division, is marching briskly towards a new militarist nightmare. The rhetoric of “defence” and “security” conceals a dangerous escalation that threatens to drag the continent into a conflict of catastrophic proportions.

And while von der Leyen and his allies talk about “interoperability” and the “defence industrial base”, no one seems to ask what the consequences of this arms race will be. Who will pay the price for this madness? Certainly not the Brussels bureaucrats or the politicians who sign pro-war appeals, but the European citizens, already exhausted by years of dull and punitive economic policies.

Enough of this Europe

The Europe of von der Leyen, Calenda, Glucksmann and their allies is not the Europe of the peoples. It is the Europe of banks, of multinationals, of the war industry. It is a Europe that has chosen to invest in war instead of peace, in profit instead of prosperity, in fear instead of solidarity.

It is time to say enough is enough. No more neoliberal policies that have impoverished millions of people. Enough with the warmongering rhetoric that threatens to drag us into a thermonuclear conflict with the Russian Federation. Enough of a Europe that, instead of being a beacon of peace and progress, turns into a militaristic, anti-historical monster.

The citizens of Europe deserve better. They deserve a Europe of free and sovereign countries that invests in peace, work and social justice. A Europe that is truly free and strong, not because of the weapons it possesses, but because of the values it defends. And this Europe will be [not] with €800 billion spent on war, but with the courage to say no to those who want to turn this continent into a battlefield.

While the European establishment desperately clings to a declining model of Western hegemony, the world is changing. The rise of a new multipolar order, with powers such as China, India, Russia, Brazil and other emerging nations claiming a central role in the global chessboard, represents a historic opportunity to rethink Europe's role in the world. An opportunity that, unfortunately, our leaders seem to want to ignore, preferring to pursue the dream of a fortress Europe, militarised and subordinate to Atlanticist interests.

Multipolarity is not a threat, but a chance to build a more balanced world, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but through dialogue and cooperation. Instead of spending €800 billion on weapons, Europe could position itself as a global mediator, a bridge between the different powers, promoting international governance based on mutual respect, economic justice and peaceful dispute resolution.

But to seize this opportunity, Europe must free itself from ideological subservience to the US hawks - now in opposition - and from the short-sightedness of those who see rearmament as the only answer to global challenges. It must abandon its obsession with inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia and invest instead in the real “security” of its citizens: economic, social, environmental security. It must stop being a crock pot among iron pots and become an autonomous actor, capable of dialogue with all, without prejudice and without superiority complexes.

The multipolar world offers us a choice: continue to chase the myth of a militarised Europe, or embrace a new vision, one that places cooperation and sustainable development at the centre. The road of war with Russia that some circles insist on is a dead end, leading only to more instability and suffering. The road of multipolarism, on the other hand, is that of a possible future, where Europe can finally rediscover its most authentic vocation: that of being a beacon of peace, progress and justice in the world.

The choice is ours. But time is running out.

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The second article that follows was published on Movisol.org on Thursday 6th March 2025.

Germany ready to take the lead in the militarisation of Europe

Friedrich Merz.

The CDU and SPD have begun talks on the formation of a new government, but there is no indication that they are considering a break with traditional British geopolitics and the strategy of conflict with Russia. On the contrary, the leaders of both parties fervently sided with Volodymyr Zelensky after the latter's clash with Trump. An important issue on the agenda is the suspension of the “Schuldenbremse”, the clause in the constitution that prohibits the issuing of public debt outside the “zero increase of the budget” obligation. A two-thirds majority in the new Bundestag, which will convene on 23rd March [2025], would be required to annul this provision, which is expected to prove difficult.

A suspension of the debt ceiling would open the door to the issuance of bonds in the order of €400 billion directly for the armed forces and another €400-500 billion for infrastructure, much of which would be indirectly for military purposes, such as ports, railways, and hardware storage sites. This would be Germany's contribution to the collective rearmament announced by EU Commission President von der Leyen on 2nd March [2025] in London, with an initial allocation of €200-300 billion per year.

Agreements on militarisation projects had already been signed by Berlin in 2024, during the last months of the Biden administration. One of these concerns the stationing of new US medium-range missiles, including future hypersonic systems, starting in 2026. There are also agreements with France and the UK on cooperation in the development of long-range missiles, the British one to be finalised with the new German government. Unlike the current Storm Shadow missiles with a range of 230 km, which the UK and France delivered to Ukraine, the planned new jointly produced missiles would be able to strike deep into Russian territory.

In addition, Germany will produce more Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 km. While outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz vetoed their delivery to Ukraine, the likely new Chancellor Friedrich Merz is in favour. In addition, many of the governments of the European “coalition of the willing”, committed to continuing the confrontation with Russia under Anglo-French leadership and ready to spend tens of billions of Euros to do so, are interested in purchasing the Taurus systems and are considering joining the tripartite agreements between Germany, France and the UK.

All this is being sold to the population with the noble narrative of defending Europe's freedom against Russia, but it is unlikely to be bought by a population that would prefer peace and cooperation between West and East.

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The third and final article, by Paolo Borgognone, was published on ComeDonChisciotte.org on Friday 7th March 2025.

Everything is at stake

We must realise that the same EU that for years, with its technocrats and bankers, has been telling us that the welfare model “to which we were accustomed” was now unsustainable due to a lack of cash in hand, is now spending €800 BILLION on a war that is less and less by proxy and more and more lost, but which cannot be declared as such on pain of the political survival of the governments and elites that wanted it.

And so, to buy themselves some time and guarantee themselves some oxygen, the money they said was lacking for health, security, culture and jobs, they find it now.

And you cannot even accuse them of “living beyond their means” because they tell us to spend this money not on them, heaven forbid, but to protect our freedom and democracy. They are doing it for us and we don't even thank them!!!

But then they cancel elections, when it is not their candidate who wins them (see Romania). Except then forcing entire populations to have to obtain a pass to live. And more... Why these €800 BILLION? That's easy: EVERYTHING is at stake: military power, political power, economic power.

But above all, there is what they hold most dear, and what they cannot afford to lose: cultural power, power over the imagination, the cultural (and psychological) superstructures that for the moment are holding the show up, and which, if the war is lost and they admit it, will fall like a house of cards. And if those fall, the domino effect involves everything else, from the economy to the EU institutions.

Liberalism is at stake, and they cannot gamble with it. Liberalism is worth a good €800 BILLION?

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Source: https://t.me/paolo_borgognone/3046

These graphs speak for themselves.

For months now, big finance has been exiting big pharma and energy transition stocks and repositioning itself massively in defence stocks. The process, as you can see, has been going on for some time, since well before the election of Donald Trump.

What we are witnessing these days, on closer inspection, is a big play, with a script played by heart by the actors and an ending already written. Let's face it, in the end the rearmament of Europe suits everyone: finance, which urgently needed a new bubble; the United States, which for decades has been asking its European allies to spend more on defence; the European Commission, which hopes today through the ReArmEU to curb centrifugal forces and finally cement the architecture of the Union; and the nation states, which grumble and pretend to be perplexed, but underneath hope that by increasing public spending on defence they will revive a faltering economy. The plot has long since been decided, the rest is diversions, variations on the theme, special effects.

Everyone stands to gain, in short. Everyone minus the citizens. Ursula von der Leyen's plan, approved today by 26 out of 27 member states, envisages that €150 billion of the €800 billion envisaged will be in debt, i.e. raised on the market by issuing bonds. The other €650 billion will have to come from the member states, which will have the choice between raising taxes, cutting other expenditure items or opting for a mix of both.

Nobody in Brussels or Washington seriously believes that Putin will invade Europe tomorrow or the day after. But it suits them to have you believe it. So when, at the next budget, you ask why another cut has been made in health, education or other services, they can tell you that it is a necessary sacrifice to defend your country, your democracy, the values of your European Union.

All that remains is to say goodnight, if you can sleep.

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Giubbe Rosse - https://t.me/rossobruni/49667