Online ISSN 2286-0266
Print ISSN 1223-0685
© 2024 Œconomica by ASE & SOREC
 
Alexandra-Carmen BRAN
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
Major geopolitical changes and the resurgence of conflict in Europe, as well as Russia’s unjustified and illegal attack on Ukraine, challenge our ability to advance our goals and protect our interests. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, accompanied by an increase in defence budgets, could provide an impetus for the reorganization of collaborative defence programs. Risks to Europe must be identified and articulated to justify increased defence spending. In retrospect, the conventional threat posed by Russia appears less formidable than previously thought, but the task of restoring weakened capabilities is enormous. Thus, European defence policy offers opportunities to spend more and more efficiently – these must be re-evaluated accordingly. This essay provides an objective economic analysis of European defence policy. It identifies the challenges in these policies, their economic aspects, future opportunities and obstacles to more efficient spending. The criteria of economic efficiency indicate the role of outputs, substitution and competition in the development of European defence policy, although political-military factors are more likely to affect the final results than the criteria of economic efficiency.

ŒCONOMICA no. 1/2023
Keywords: geoeconomy, geopolitics, military spending, defence policy, European security
JEL: F01, F51, G01, K33, O52
The Efficiency of Defence Policies in Terms of Military Spending in the Context of the War in Ukraine [Eficienţa politicilor de apărare în ceea ce priveşte cheltuielile militare, în contextul războiului din Ucraina]