Russia’s war economy has reached a staggering scale that should alarm every European leader. Between 2022 and 2024, Moscow allocated at least $263 billion to defence outlays — approximately 7% of GDP annually — transforming a massive portion of its economy into a military-industrial complex on a scale that is unprecedented since the Cold War. Meanwhile, China just tightened its grip on rare earth exports , giving Beijing the power to potentially veto European defence production. These aren’t hypothetical threats — they’re today’s reality, and Europe’s response has been far too slow.

The numbers tell a sobering story. While European NATO members collectively spent approximately €343 billion on defence in 2023 , this was spread across 27 nations with fragmented procurement systems and

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