85 years ago, in December 1940, Franklin Roosevelt described the US as the ‘great arsenal of democracy’ in a broadcast made less than a year before the country decisively entered the war against fascism in Europe. That ushered in almost a century where the US could be relied on by European allies.

That security blanket led to complacency and an over reliance on the US by European leaders. The first Trump Presidency and shift in public attitudes towards European security in the US was seen as a blip, but few can have that excuse anymore.

The dangers of these attitudes have been most apparent when it comes to dealing with the threat from the Kremlin. More than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 11 years after the war started and a quarter century after Putin came to power, we Europeans are still not taking our collective security seriously enough.

For too many democracies in Western Europe, there has not been the same urgency in dealing with our security as you will find among those bordering Russia. Leadership has shifted away from the old axis of Paris, Berlin and London and has instead come from Warsaw, Tallinn and Helsinki. Although Europe’s democracies have responded with support to Ukraine it has been nowhere near the scale that was needed. It should be a source of shame that North Korea has been able to provide more support to Russia than many European countries have to Ukraine.

That needs to change. Europe needs to step up and take responsibility for its own security. For three long years, and the eight years before then, Ukrainians have defended their fellow Europeans, far too often underequipped and under-resourced as we bicker at home.

This has shown up the weaknesses of the traditional European powers with the rise of the right in France, Germany’s failure to take its security responsibilities seriously and the UK’s indulgent act of self-harm with Brexit holding the rest of Europe back.

The time for complacency was over three years ago and the need for greater European self-reliance on security is now urgent. In supporting Ukraine we support ourselves. It’s time to invest in the defence of European democracy again and a more integrated approach to European defence and security.

Stephen Gethins MP is a member of the Foreign Policy Centre’s Political Council

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not reflect the views of The Foreign Policy Centre.