The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, says Europe is entering a “prewar” era, cautioning that the continent is not ready and urging European countries to step up defence investment.
In an interview with a group of European newspapers reported by the BBC, Tusk said: “I don’t want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past. It’s real and it started over two years ago.”
Tusk’s comments came days after a Russian missile briefly breached Polish airspace during a major attack on Ukraine, prompting Warsaw to put its forces on heightened readiness. Ukrainian officials have said large-scale Russian missile and drone attacks had targeted energy infrastructure.
Tusk has been using his platform to try to add a sense of urgency to Europe’s debates about defence and aid to Ukraine, amid fears about the future of American assistance and concerns about defence industrial capacity.
Not confused.
Many European countries have reduced their military spending because of the tax-wallet, and Tusk is right to increase it.
Yet, the bigger threat of losing livable planet is still in a negotiation phase when it comes to funding; projects that will need to be paid by the ( inescapable ) the tax-wallet.