Europe's arms and ammunition production is in "deep shit", Belgium's former deputy chief of defence has told POLITICO.
Marc Thys, who retired in 2023 with the rank of lieutenant general, said it would take years for Europe to rebuild its production capacity needed to both aid Ukraine and reequip national forces.
He said: "It's not a joke, we're in deep shit. Especially in Belgium, but we’re not the only ones."
He pointed out that relying on the US for security had led to decades of underinvestment in the bloc
"Ammunition is a symptom of a cultural problem within Europe," he added.
Last year, weapons makers in Poland and the Czech Republic launched or expanded programmes to recruit and train new workers after the Ukraine war drove a spike in demand for their productions.
