"If Europe is to survive, it needs to be armed." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's thunderous statement to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 22 echoes recent comments made by several leaders of the 27 European Union member states. Faced with pressure from United States President Donald Trump, who is urging greater financial European contributions toward collective security, and with Ukraine in trouble with Russia, many of the continent's leaders are now seeking to push progress on "European defense." Behind the bold rhetoric, however, the project appears to be more stalled than ever, increasing concern and even consternation among many specialists.

"Before, these debates were relatively theoretical, but now it has become urgent," Lembit Uibo, Estonian ambassador to France, told the Association of Defense Journalists on Tuesday, January 21. "There isn't enough money, it's a question of credibility in the face of adversaries," stressed Uibo. His comments were in line with those of the new EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who on January 22 made a vibrant appeal to "invest" in the face of a Russian defense industry capable, which, in her words, is capable of producing "in three months (...) more weapons and more ammunition than we can in 12."

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