紐時賞析／俄烏戰爭 重新形塑歐洲支出分配

The War Is Reshaping How Europe Spends

俄烏戰爭重新形塑歐洲支出分配

Nicolae Ciuca spent a lifetime on the battlefield before being voted in as prime

minister of Romania four months ago. Yet even he did not imagine the need to

spend millions of dollars for emergency production of iodine pills to help

block radiation poisoning in case of a nuclear blast, or to raise military

spending 25% in a single year.

四個月前被選為羅馬尼亞總理之前，尼可萊．丘卡的人生都在戰場上度過。然而他沒料到，需要花數百萬美元緊急製造碘錠，以阻擋萬一發生核爆時的輻射中毒，或是需要一年就提高25%的軍事開支。

“We never thought we’d need to go back to the Cold War and consider

potassium iodine again,” Ciuca, a retired general, said through a

translator at Victoria Palace, the government’s headquarters in

Bucharest. “We never expected this kind of war in the 21st century.”

「我們從來沒有想過我們需要回到冷戰時期，而且還要再度考慮到碘化鉀」，退役將領丘卡在布加勒斯特的政府總部維多利亞宮，透過翻譯這麼說道，「我們從未想到在21世紀會還有這種戰爭」。

Across the European Union and Britain, Russia’s invasion of

Ukraine is reshaping spending priorities and forcing governments

to prepare for threats thought to have been long buried — from a

flood of European refugees to the possible use of chemical, biological

and even nuclear weapons by a Russian leader who may feel

backed into a corner.

在整個歐盟和英國，俄國入侵烏克蘭正重新形塑支出優先順序，迫使各國政府對原本以為早就消失的威脅做好準備，從大批湧入的歐洲難民，到一名俄國領導人在自認無路可退時可能使用化學、生物或甚至核武器。

The result is a sudden reshuffling of budgets as military spending,

essentials like agriculture and energy, and humanitarian assistance

are shoved to the front of the line, with other pressing needs like

education and social services likely to be downgraded.

結果是突然的預算重新洗牌，軍事支出、農業和能源等基礎事業以及人道援助，被推到最前列，而像教育及社會福利的迫切需求可能被忽視。

The most significant shift is in military spending. Germany’s

turnabout is the most dramatic, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s promise

to raise spending above 2% of the country’s economic output, a level

not reached in more than three decades. The pledge included an

immediate injection of 100 billion euros into the country’s notoriously

threadbare armed forces. As Scholz put it in his speech last month,

“We need planes that fly, ships that sail and soldiers who are optimally

equipped.”

最顯著的轉變就是軍事支出。德國的轉向最戲劇性，總理蕭茲承諾要把軍事支出提高到全國經濟產出的2%以上，是30多年不曾達到的程度。這項宣誓包括立即挹注1000億歐元至這個國家惡名昭彰的陳舊軍隊。如同蕭茲2月在演說中所提到，「我們需要能飛的飛機，能航行的船，以及裝備最好的軍人。」

The commitment is a watershed moment for a country that has sought to

leave behind an aggressive military stance that contributed to two

devastating world wars.

對於一個想要擺脫激進軍事立場導致兩場慘烈世界大戰的國家而言，這項承諾是個分水嶺時刻。

Belgium, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden — a

militarily neutral country that is not a part of NATO — have also

announced increases to their defense budgets.

比利時、義大利、波蘭、拉脫維亞、立陶宛、挪威以及非北約一份子的軍事中立國瑞典，都宣布增加他們的國防預算。

“It’s our responsibility to take measure to protect ourselves,”

said Ciuca, the Romanian prime minister. No one knows how long the

war in Ukraine will continue, “but we have to reassess and adapt to

what might happen in the future,” he added. “We have to be prepared

for the unexpected.”

「採取措施保護自己是我們的責任」，羅馬尼亞總理丘卡說。沒人知道烏克蘭戰爭將持續多久，「但我們必須重新評估並因應未來可能發生的狀況」，他補充說，「我們必須為意想不到的事做好準備」。

文／Patricia Cohen 譯／莊蕙嘉

說文解字看新聞

【莊蕙嘉】

俄國入侵烏克蘭撼動全球，本文討論首當其衝的歐洲國家重新思考預算分配優先順序。

開戰後果不如預期，外界憂心俄國總統普亭可能動用核生化武器。第三段形容普亭feel backed into a corner，片語back/force someone into a corner意指被逼入無法輕易脫身的困境，corner也可直接當動詞使用。

第五段敘述德國提高國防預算，turnabout意同turnaround，指態度立場的一百八十度轉彎。Threadbare原意是織物或衣服舊到磨光露底的，也指因過時陳舊而失效的。

同一段末德國總理蕭茲的談話，文中沒有can，譯成中文卻是「『能』飛的飛機」；因為敘述的是一個正常狀況下應有的現象，故用現在簡單式。基礎英語The sun rises in the east.便是形容再自然不過的現象。