Yves here. Yet another example of European values in action! A corruption scandal in Aisle 5!<\/p>\n
While this procurement abuse is not all that big an impediment to European NATO members bulking up their armed forces, say compared to voters not being on board with baked-in social spending cuts, the lack of an industrial base, and high energy costs, the last thing NATO needs is more problems. It is, or soon will be, taking a reputational hit for throwing all that money into the Project Ukraine burn pit. Corruption will be yet another ding in its once-vaunted reputation. And that in turn gives voters another talking point in their effort to contest this wasteful scheme.<\/p>\n
Mind you, as Korybko makes clear, this embarrassment is not fatal, but it may throw some sand in the gears.<\/p>\n
By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO,<\/i><\/b><\/a> which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Member states might eschew the NATO Support and Procurement Agency\u2019s services, thus delaying their military purchases, which could delay the bloc\u2019s rapid militarization plans if enough of them do this so as to avoid having to pay more if they\u2019re unlucky enough to be serviced by corrupt employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n NATO\u2019s next summit will be held from 24-25 June at The Hague and almost certainly see the bloc expand upon its preexisting rapid militarization plans. Trump is demanding that all members spend 5% of GDP on defense as soon as possible, which Politico<\/a> recently reminded everyone in their article about this is divided between 3.5% on \u201chard military spending\u201d and 1.5% on defense-related issues like cybersecurity. Here are three background briefings on NATO\u2019s rapid militarization plans to bring readers up to speed:<\/p>\n * 19 July 2024: \u201cThe EU\u2019s Planned Transformation Into A Military Union Is A Federalist Power Play<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n * 24 October 2024: \u201cNATO\u2019s Military Schengen<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n * 7 March 2025: \u201cThe \u2018ReArm Europe Plan\u2019 Will Probably Fall Far Short Of The Bloc\u2019s Lofty Expectations<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n In short, the EU wants to exploit false fears<\/a> of a future Russian invasion to further centralize the bloc under that pretext, with the \u201cmilitary Schengen\u201d (for facilitating the free flow of troops and equipment between member states) and the \u20ac800 billion \u201cReArm Europe Plan\u201d being its tangible manifestations. The first will create the desired military union while the second will then result in there being an urgent need for some mechanism to organize the division of defense investments between all members.<\/p>\n It\u2019s here where the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is expected to play a major role owing to the lack of any alternatives and the difficulty in getting members to agree on creating a new EU-wide one due to some states\u2019 sovereignty concerns. Per the NSPA\u2019s website<\/a>, \u201c[its] objective is to obtain the best service or equipment at the best price for the customer by consolidating requirements from multiple nations in a cost-efficient way through its turnkey multinational acquisition framework.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00-NATO.jpg\")
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