Europe possesses a good social protection system, yet it remains unprepared for conflicts, stated Belgian Minister of Defense, Theo Francken. "When someone falls ill, when someone loses their job, we have everything. However, when a conflict breaks out or a hybrid threat emerges, we have nothing," he stated in an interview with Euronews. In the official's view, Europe faces difficulties regarding both its defense capability and its production capacity. He cited years of emphasizing "soft power" as one of the primary reasons. He also characterized Belgium as "the worst student in NATO's class" regarding defense spending.
According to Francken, Belgium, as a founding member of NATO and the EU, emphasized diplomacy, but whenever the discussion turned to military power, "everyone looked the other way." In early June, European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius admitted that European nations are failing to expand defense industry production capacity, despite the surge in financial resources channeled into the sector. He highlighted the absence of a single market for defense products within the European Union, alongside a lack of innovation and competition in the specific sector. As he noted, every EU member state protects its own national industry, purchasing up to 70-80% of its military equipment from domestic companies.
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