The European Union has renamed its initiative to help member states gain access to finance for defence investment. Formerly termed ReArm Europe, the plan will now be referred to as Readiness 2030.
Apparently the rebrand comes after some backlash from Italy and Spain, who were uncomfortable with the militaristic connotations of the former name. Instead, Readiness 2030 supposedly refers to the year by which some predict Russia will have the capabilities to launch an attack on the bloc.
However strange it may seem to have hesitations about plans to buy weapons sounding too militaristic, one might also think that a tiff over the name is barely of any importance compared to the mission at hand.
But the change to a softer name is emblematic of public opinion in some European countries when it comes to defence spending.
There have been many polls that show a lack of public support for it in the recent past. In the age of Donald Trump's second US presidency, support has fared better, but they still suggest citizens in some of the largest EU countries are not fully on board. When it comes to financing collaborative measures, or increasing support to Ukraine, the scales often tip out of favour altogether.
Without public support and domestic political will, EU-wide rearmament plans are likely to flop, no matter what measures the EU puts in its plan.
Countries like Italy — which looks to have the most divided public opinion on the matter and a 135% debt to GDP ratio — cannot really use the fiscal space that the EU is freeing up by allowing countries to borrow for defence without fear of breaking its fiscal rules.
Italy's government is in effect facing a choice to risk its financial stability to do something its voters don't seem to want.
Even worse, highly indebted states would have all the incentives they need to shift their current defence spending plans out of their budget and into one of the loans from the EU’s planned €150bn loan instrument, freeing up space for extra spending or debt reduction. Countries already unsure about the perils of further joint borrowing, such as those vast sums carried out by the EU itself, will not be pleased.
Without public support for investment it may well be the case that the EU’s defence finance initiative is doomed from the beginning, whatever it decides to call it.