Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has broken ranks with other NATO leaders as he refused to commit to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. It’s a welcome move, and a rare voice of dissent from Europe’s rush to remilitarize.
Jacobin not wanting EU to have increased military spending, checks out. Surely it has nothing to do with an increasing threat Europe is facing on the east
That threat might be easier to contain if Europe didn’t waste all its soft power and international credibility supporting a genocidal apartheid regime and alienating the entirety of the non western world.
What an absurdly derailed form of whataboutism is this? Russia is waging a war against Ukraine and preparing to invade other European nations (as you can see from the Kremlin’s military spending). It was Russia which started this war and constitutes a threat to Europe, this has nothing to do with what happens in other world areas.
This a knee jerk reaction that misunderstands what I’m actually saying. It might have been whataboutism if I was making a “yea but what about whaaa” cheap shot at derailing the discussion. I wasn’t however. I talked about how the one situation impacts the other and is made more expensive and difficult by the other. Spain happens to be one of the very few western countries to speak up against the madness in the middle east and about the importance of international law. It is objectively harder to pass and enforce sanctions on Russia precisely because a bunch of non western countries just see the double standard and refuse to cooperate. Our support for the Israeli apartheid regime is making it harder to make politically the case for Ukraine, making it harder to encircle and contain Russia, erodes morale in our own countries and diverts resources and energy to adventurist dead ends.
Sorry, but 5% of the GDP is fucking insane. For Germany with an GDP of 4,5 Billion that would mean spending 225 Mrd. Euro. Thats nearly half of the current Budget.
I agree. If we start spending half of our budget on the military, I’m going to lose my shit. 5% is some weird fantasy number, that somehow is actually discussed now? If not even the US, who are known for their excessive military spending, are even close to it, I’m sure you can have a proper military with a lot less.
To provide context for english speakers, this would 4.5 trillion and 225 billion.
Germany uses a different system that adds two sets with the same prefix, one ending in -illion (million, billion) and -illiarden (milliarden, billiarden)
Jacobin not wanting EU to have increased military spending, checks out. Surely it has nothing to do with an increasing threat Europe is facing on the east
That threat might be easier to contain if Europe didn’t waste all its soft power and international credibility supporting a genocidal apartheid regime and alienating the entirety of the non western world.
@[email protected] @[email protected]
What an absurdly derailed form of whataboutism is this? Russia is waging a war against Ukraine and preparing to invade other European nations (as you can see from the Kremlin’s military spending). It was Russia which started this war and constitutes a threat to Europe, this has nothing to do with what happens in other world areas.
This a knee jerk reaction that misunderstands what I’m actually saying. It might have been whataboutism if I was making a “yea but what about whaaa” cheap shot at derailing the discussion. I wasn’t however. I talked about how the one situation impacts the other and is made more expensive and difficult by the other. Spain happens to be one of the very few western countries to speak up against the madness in the middle east and about the importance of international law. It is objectively harder to pass and enforce sanctions on Russia precisely because a bunch of non western countries just see the double standard and refuse to cooperate. Our support for the Israeli apartheid regime is making it harder to make politically the case for Ukraine, making it harder to encircle and contain Russia, erodes morale in our own countries and diverts resources and energy to adventurist dead ends.
Sorry, but 5% of the GDP is fucking insane. For Germany with an GDP of 4,5 Billion that would mean spending 225 Mrd. Euro. Thats nearly half of the current Budget.
https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Economy/National-Accounts-Domestic-Product/_node.html
https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Press_Room/Publications/Monthly_Report/Key_Figures/2025/2025-03-federal-budget.html
How much is Russia spending?
I agree. If we start spending half of our budget on the military, I’m going to lose my shit. 5% is some weird fantasy number, that somehow is actually discussed now? If not even the US, who are known for their excessive military spending, are even close to it, I’m sure you can have a proper military with a lot less.
To provide context for english speakers, this would 4.5 trillion and 225 billion.
Germany uses a different system that adds two sets with the same prefix, one ending in -illion (million, billion) and -illiarden (milliarden, billiarden)
More context: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales