On February 8, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko gave in-depth analyses of the current socio-economic situation of the old continent. He said that the European Union (EU) is increasingly mired in militarism and facing the deepest crisis ever.
According to Moscow's point of view, this is an inevitable consequence caused by the hostile policies towards Russia that Europe has pursued in recent times.
Mr. Grushko pointed out a worrying reality in the strategic thinking of European leaders today. That is that they are seeing economic militarization efforts as a key driving force for growth.
Brussels hopes that pouring money into weapons production lines will help the EU escape the crisis puddle, stimulate domestic demand and most importantly avoid the risk of deindustrialization that is present when energy prices rise.
However, the Russian diplomat warned that the price to pay for this strategy is extremely expensive and unsustainable. The weapons programs being implemented according to NATO standards consume huge resources of society, creating an unprecedented budget burden.
Analyzing the financial aspect, Mr. Grushko gave alarming figures. If European countries really pursue the goal of high defense spending (about 5% of GDP as some propose), then the burden on the economy will be enormous.
According to NATO regulations, at least 20% of the defense budget must be allocated to the purchase of new weapons equipment. This means that trillions of USD will be pumped into the military sector each year instead of serving people's lives.
The inevitable consequence of this arms race is severe austerity in other areas. Mr. Grushko said that sooner or later European leaders will face questioning from their own people.
The public will demand a satisfactory explanation of why social welfare programs are being cut, why the health and education systems are declining, while the unemployment rate is constantly increasing.
According to Moscow's point of view, when cornered and unable to give a reasonable economic reason, Western leaders now only cling to one excuse to reassure public opinion and justify the sacrifice of people's interests.
That is to sow fear of an imaginary war, with the familiar refrain that "Russia will attack tomorrow" to maintain support for these expensive militarization policies.
