"Europe might finally be emerging from its military complacency."

Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally awakened to the reality of its own defense responsibilities in the Trump era.

“It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill to the White House and started bullying him,” European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told HAWK24NEWS

This reckoning came in a month when U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly called Europe “PATHETIC” for “free-loading” on defense in a group chat that inadvertently included a journalist from The Atlantic. In response, the continent has begun dismantling long-standing taboos on military spending, with policies now on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago.

The most significant shift has come from Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Following the federal election, Chancellor-in-Waiting Friedrich Merz secured parliamentary approval to scrap Germany’s constitutional “debt brake” mechanism, which limits government borrowing. In principle, this change allows for unrestricted defense and security spending, with experts estimating it could unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) over the next decade.

“This is a game-changer for Europe,” said Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Germany was the laggard, especially among the major powers, when it came to defense.”

While Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 initially jolted Germany, Buras argues that only the “Trump shock” ultimately spurred Berlin to take the drastic step of suspending the debt break.

“This,” he said, “is the real, proper Zeitenwende, a true turning point.”

Taboos crumbling

In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron, who has long championed European “strategic autonomy” from the U.S., has suggested that France’s nuclear arsenal could extend its protection to allies already under the umbrella of American bombs.

Macron’s remarks earlier this month followed calls from Friedrich Merz for discussions with France and the United Kingdom, Europe’s two nuclear powers, on expanding their nuclear deterrence. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, even suggesting that Poland should consider acquiring nuclear weapons itself.

Meanwhile, Poland and the Baltic states—Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—have withdrawn from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty on landmines, a long-standing milestone in efforts to curb mass warfare. Lithuania has already purchased 85,000 landmines, while Poland is planning to produce one million domestically. Additionally, Lithuania became the first signatory ever to withdraw from the international treaty banning cluster munitions.

Military conscription is also making a comeback across Europe. Denmark will extend mandatory conscription to women from 2026 and has lowered health requirements for certain roles to strengthen its armed forces. Poland has announced plans to introduce military training for all adult men. Even traditionally neutral nations are reconsidering their stance: Ireland, historically focused on peacekeeping, has introduced legislation allowing troop deployments without UN approval, bypassing potential Russian or American vetoes.

For years, Europe’s defense rested on an unspoken reliance on the U.S. cavalry coming to the rescue. That assumption is now in question.

The shift goes beyond who will fight to who will supply the weapons. Some European nations are reconsidering their planned purchases of the costly U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo publicly stated that Portugal is reassessing its acquisition of the jets in favor of European alternatives due to concerns over reliance on U.S.-controlled spare parts.

It marks the first time such concerns have been voiced at a high level—especially in favor of aircraft that, on paper, lack the same capabilities.

A united Europe?

Yet, while Europe appears to have received the wake-up call, true unity remains elusive.

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced a proposal to invest billions more in defense—initially called “ReArm Europe”—Spain and Italy pushed back, prompting a rebrand to “Readiness 2030.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement is reached—another divisive issue across the continent.

The name change reflects a broader fault line in Europe: the farther a country is from Russia, the less inclined it is to prioritize military spending over domestic needs