You're listening. You're listening to EU Watchdog Radio.

Hello, I'm Isabella Franco, communication assisted at Counterbalance.

Welcome to this new episode.

In today's episode, Mariliza Mariglano, policy and advocacy officer at Counterbalance,

we will be talking with Letitia Cedou, EU project manager at the European Network against Armstreet.

In a moment where military expanding across Europe is increasing, this conversation takes a critical look at what is often presented as a necessary

response to geopolitical stability.

But is this militarization really about security or about reinforcing the interests of the arms industry?

This episode unpacks how EU policies have been shaped by industry influence,

how public funds are increasingly redirected towards military production, and how narratives of

security and even sustainability are being used to justify the expansion of the armed sector. Let's get into it.

Thanks Letitia for finding time to speak with us today. Good morning and thanks to you for the

invitation and the opportunity to address this very important topic. Let's start by saying that

Ennath has been one of the most outspoken opposition voices

against the current arms race. So I would like to start our conversation by asking you from

an insider point of view, how has you seen the evolution of the narrative and of the political

debate around the militarization at both European political discussions and also from the point of view of the public opinion.

It has evolved and in terms of how that also normalized the arms manufacturing in the EU level.

Well maybe I would start explaining a bit the main reasons why we decided to monitor those policies,

those trends in fact, an alert on these policies, which may seem a bit far from the normal

work of a peace group.

The first concern which is important to understand is that those policies are largely industry

...