A Ukrainian soldier carries a 155 mm grenade to a self-propelled howitzer near Bakhmut.
Image: dpa
The member states buy weapons and ammunition outside the EU for 80 percent of their arms budget. This quota should be reduced to half. However, the Commission only has 1.5 billion euros available for this.
Dhe EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave two figures on Tuesday to illustrate the challenge facing the European defense industry. In 2022, the Pentagon bought weapons and ammunition for 215 billion euros, while the 27 EU states together only came to 58 billion euros. The smaller part of this money went to European defense companies, which are spread across a few larger member states. Almost as much benefited American producers. That should change in the future. The member states should invest “more, better, together and in a European way” – this mantra was often heard when the EU Commission presented its strategy for the European defense industry.
The strategy goes hand in hand with a program that the member states and the EU Parliament must decide together. And even if all actors tried to present their initiative as a major achievement, its scope is still modest: the Commission wants to spend just 1.5 billion euros on it between 2025 and 2027. More money is not available in medium-term financial planning.
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