The EU’s $868 billion “ReArm Europe Plan” could lead to economic collapse due to debt, Hasan Alkas, a former senior economist at the EU Commission, told Anadolu.
Alkas said under current circumstances the EU is in no position to save its economy or support Ukraine.
The €800 billion ($868 billion) plan, announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeks to strengthen Europe’s military capabilities by boosting defense spending, focusing on joint defense production, investing in the defense industry, and reducing dependence on non-EU suppliers.
But von der Leyen’s plan does not include a clear financial mechanism, raising concerns over how the EU will fund such a large-scale rearmament effort.
- Germany’s economy in ‘intensive care’
Alkas said Europe’s economic challenges stem from over-reliance on the green transformation programs.
“Especially Germany – the driving force behind the EU – has been stumbling for quite some time now, being treated as ‘the sick man of Europe,’ and currently, it is in intensive care,” he said.
Alkas also said energy policies have brought Europe’s economy to the brink of collapse, stressing that recovery is impossible with high prices and adding that the Nord Stream pipeline “needs to be rebuilt and natural gas should flow through these pipes.”
- US-led Western bloc is falling
Alkas said deindustrialization is rampant across the EU, pointing to plans by the new center-right government in Germany to borrow €900 billion.
“Why would they want this? Because they realize their entire industry is now sinking,” he said.
Alkas called Europe a “bankrupt economy” trying to salvage itself by “supporting Ukraine and preparing for war.” Alkas warned that US tariffs would only exacerbate the situation.
“The US-led Western bloc is falling – while Canada is retaliating (against US tariffs), the EU is saying it won’t step back,” he said. “Yesterday’s Transatlanticists have become today’s enemies.”
“If Europe has an identity crisis every time there’s a change in the US government, we’re in deep trouble,” he added.
- ‘One last fatal blow to an already failed economy’
Alkas argued that the EU’s large borrowing plan to bolster its defense industry will lead to the continent’s economic collapse.
“This much borrowing – one last fatal blow to an already failed economy,” he said. “Debt partnership always pits people and countries against one another and it never works in the long run.”
He mentioned that exemptions to industrial investments can also lead to abuse.
Alkas said Europe, with its aging society of 500 million people, has a weak economy.
“Refugees going to Europe live mostly on benefits,” he said. “Europe can’t confront the US with such a society.”
“Europe’s ties to (US President Donald) Trump are being broken, prompting the bloc to become a new power under its own flag,” he noted.
“Europe cannot become a military power without Türkiye,” Alkas added.
By Melike Pala and Emir Yildirim
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr