Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "How Europe is creating its own military-industrial complex" video.
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@Vmurmur Far more than people think, EU countries are modern advanced economies, they've got the manufacturing capabilities, it's just a matter of need to do it.
We should put things into context, EU countries for the most part don't really see Russia as a threat to them, because in all honestly, they are not, Putin is having a nightmare of a time in Ukraine, which is one of the poorest European countries and they are not an EU or NATO country, which made them a very easy target, hence the risk to EU countries for now is quite low, hence the low urgency.
But if things were to escalate, a lot more economic muscle would get put to arms and the economy is the real power in this world, so the risk to EU countries from Russia is quite low and Putin has more or less tried his best to destabilise things and yet had little impact.
With that said, I really do think EU countries should get together on the military front and build a strong arms industry, basically, stop being reactive and be more proactive, especially in a world where the US is becoming less reliable and more unpredictable.
Anyway, some countries think of EU members as being weak on the military front because of not being as aggressive, but it's understandable why they are not as aggressive considering their history, but only a fool would see that as weakness, if push comes to shove and there was a real threat to them, that economic might will kick into overdrive on the military front, the EU, US and China are 3 powers that can put far more economic muscle towards the military and manufacturing capabilities if needed, Russia doesn't have the economic muscle to keep up and is a dying empire that's living in the past.
But if I'm honest with myself, I've been disappointed in both the EU and the US on Ukraine, they talk a good deal but are not delivering enough and not quickly enough, they come up with rules on what Ukraine can and can't do with the arms, especially the US which is favourable for Russia as they don't have these limitations, the EU and the US if they wanted too could have given Ukraine the means to end this war a long time ago, but I have a feeling that the US wants this war to drag out with the aim of bleeding Russia, basically, the longer Russia is bogged down in Ukraine and spending a fortune, the more it drains them over the years, I doubt the EU wants that as Ukraine is on their doorstep, but it fits in with US thinking, which is unfortunate for the people of Ukraine as they are the ones suffering for this.
This is another big reason why EU countries need a single EU military and forign policy so they can have independent thinking away from the US.
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