The European Union proposes a significant increase in defense capabilities

“We must take greater responsibility for our security and, of course, remain fully committed to the NATO alliance,” said European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager.

“We need to ensure the right transatlantic balance, regardless of the electoral dynamics in the US.” We must take greater responsibility for our security, but of course remain fully committed to the NATO alliance,” said M. Vestager.

“A better ability to act will make us stronger allies,” she said.

The strategy for the European defense industry drawn up by the EC aims to encourage European arms manufacturers to invest more in the long term, to increase production flexibility and for the first time to collectively catalog their available production.

But the continent, which has slashed defense investment for decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, is having trouble financing the ambitious initiative.

Financing issues

European Commissioner responsible for the internal market, Thierry Breton, said that the European Union will need about 100 billion. euros so that it could be competitive with the Pentagon and the US defense industry.

The EC plans to allocate 1.5 billion to start the project. euros from the current EU budget until 2027. Ms Vestager admitted it was “not very much” given the scale of the initiative.

“However, it can still be an incentive, a bonus […]because the real funding for stronger defense comes from member states and this funding will increase in the coming years,” she said.

Some countries, such as France, support the idea of ​​using EU bonds to finance the European arms production base, similar to what was done to finance economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

But more austere countries like Germany oppose it, fearing it would centralize budget control in Brussels and reduce the importance of national decisions on defense.

The proposed defense industry strategy was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

EU officials say the bloc now faces a “new security paradigm” due to an expansionist Russia that has turned into a war economy.

“To resist the return of high-intensity warfare on our border, we have decided to shift into a higher gear,” Th told reporters. Breton.

Although the EU and bloc countries support Ukraine financially and provide weapons and military equipment, weapons production has been insufficient, with the bloc failing to deliver a million artillery shells to Kyiv.

Th. Breton said that with the help of the current Act on support for the production of ammunition, the bloc now supplies Ukraine with about 80 thousand. of ammunition per month.

M. Vestager said that from February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, to June 27 last year, EU member states spent more than 100 billion euros on defense purchases. euros.

“Almost 80 percent of this amount was spent outside the European Union, and the USA alone accounted for more than 60 percent. of these costs. This is no longer sustainable,” she said.