Statement | Stop the March to War

March 4, 2026
Statement

Stop the March to War: Ceasefire Now, Disarmament, Not Escalation in the Middle East and Europe

The world is on the brink. As we witness the devastating consequences of an illegal war of aggression on Iran by the United States and Israel and ongoing destabilisation in the Middle East, the danger of a wider, catastrophic conflict has never been more acute. The cycle of violence must end. We demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire now and a return to diplomacy.

This crisis lays bare a brutal truth: militarism offers no solutions. It only brings death, destruction, and deeper instability. Yet, in the face of these horrors, the response from capitals like Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and London is not to de-escalate, but to signal an intention to further militarise and join the fight. This is a reckless and dangerous path.

This is precisely why the massive plans to ReArm Europe are so urgent to oppose. The current geopolitical fever is being used to justify an unprecedented arms build-up — but history is clear: arms races do not produce peace, they produce the conditions for the next war. The logic of deterrence has never prevented escalation; it has only raised the stakes when it fails.

Here is why rearmament makes us less safe, not more:

  • ReArming increases the risk of conflict, not peace. When Germany, France, and the UK signal they are ready to join a fight, and when the EU plans to pour €800 billion into weapons, it pours fuel on the fire. It tells warring parties that more violence, not diplomacy, is the answer, dragging our continent directly into the line of fire.
  • It escalates the current danger. As we see the situation in the Middle East spiraling, the idea of a rearmed Europe, poised for intervention, is terrifying. It transforms our continent from a potential peace broker into a direct participant in conflict, making the world, and all of us, less safe.
  • It is a massive transfer of wealth from life to death. This €800 billion will be stolen from our future—stolen from healthcare, education, climate action, social services, and international cooperation. It will enrich arms manufacturers while generating more debt and austerity for ordinary people. This is welfare not warfare in reverse.
  • ReArm Europe is being decided not by the people, but by a political class at EU and national level that is systemically overrepresented by arms industry lobbyists and deeply unaccountable to ordinary citizens.
  • It costs us our freedoms. Rearmament comes with a domestic price tag too: the criminalisation of protest, the surveillance of peace activists, and the steady erosion of civil liberties. War cultures silence opposition – and we are already seeing it happen.
  • And when war expands, it will not be those who ordered it who pay. It will be the children and young people of ordinary families thrown into the meatgrinder — our blood for their profits.

The dangers of militarism are laid bare in Gaza, in Lebanon, and in the war against Iran. We see where this logic leads: to more destruction, more refugees and a deepening climate catastrophe. We do not need more weapons. We do not need to prepare for more wars.

We need a totally different plan: real, social, ecological, and common security. We need massive investment in diplomacy, peacebuilding, and a just transition. We need to redirect funds to save lives, not to take them.

We urge you: Act now.

  • Sign the petition against ReArm Europe.
  • Join the growing European movement against the arms race.
  • Share this message and organise in your community: take to the streets and demonstrate for peace!

We must stand up against the drumbeats of war. The choice is clear: invest in weapons and war, or invest in people and peace. We choose peace. Stop ReArm Europe.

You can open the PDF version and download the statement here: StopRearmEurope-Statement_Final

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