Von der Leyen suggests using frozen Russian assets to buy ammunition for Ukraine |

Europe must put itself on guard and rearm itself in the face of the “multiple” threats it faces. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urged this Wednesday to strengthen the European defense industry and the Member States to invest more in it. At a time when the Union observes with concern that Russia’s war in Ukraine is lengthening and becoming more complicated, and sees how the Kremlin reinforces its threats and deploys its tentacles to destabilize the region, the conservative leader, already campaigning to repeat mandate at the head of the Community Executive, has called for the construction of a new security architecture and to promote financing for arms companies. Von der Leyen has also suggested opening the debate to use the benefits generated by Russian assets frozen by European sanctions in the purchase of ammunition and weapons for Ukraine. “It is time for Europe to step forward,” she said at the plenary session of the European Parliament, held in Strasbourg. “The threat of war may not be imminent, but it is not impossible,” she said.

It is a controversial proposal. The EU and the G-7 countries, which bring together the most industrialized economies in the world, have moved to freeze the benefits of Russian assets – it is estimated that there are some 270 billion euros frozen, two-thirds of that amount in the EU, mainly in Belgium—in order to use them in the future in the reconstruction of Ukraine. But the path to using that money, even for that objective, has not been easy and has faced doubts from several Member States about the legality of the measure and the impact it may have for the EU as a place of investment. There are no clear calculations of how much the return on these assets, which began to be placed in a separate account on February 12, may amount to, but last year these extraordinary profits were about 4.4 billion euros.

Von der Leyen now opens another door: that these extraordinary income not only be used for reconstruction, but also to arm Kiev through joint purchases of military material. “There could be no greater symbol or greater use for that money to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live. Ultimately, it is about Europe assuming responsibility for its own security,” said the head of the Community Executive in a parliamentary debate on European security and defense.

The European Commission seeks to strengthen its arms industry, which has been falling behind after years of disinvestment by member states. Brussels is now finalizing a new defense strategy that, as this newspaper has anticipated, will support a joint purchasing center (such as the one used to buy gas or vaccines against covid-19), with programs to standardize the partners’ arsenals, which are currently very diverse, and with projects to promote private (through promoting investment networks) and public financing. The new strategy, which is being finalized by the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for the Interior, Thierry Breton, asks the Member States and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to modify the institution’s credit policy to allow financing arms and ammunition companies, according to the draft text.

The head of the Community Executive has assured that the threat of a war in the EU is not pressing, but it cannot be ruled out either. “The risks of war should not be exaggerated, but we must be prepared to face them. And that begins with the urgent need to rebuild, replenish and modernize the armed forces of the Member States,” she noted. The leader of the Renew liberals in the European Parliament, Valerie Hayer, has also insisted on this: “We have to build a true internal defense market.”

Von der Leyen’s call to rearm and the preparation of the strategy coincides with a moment of great concern in the EU, which is watching the United States and the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House. Also with a complicated and crucial time for Ukraine on the battlefield, where Russia has regained (albeit timidly) the initiative and kyiv’s troops face a lack of ammunition and are fighting with worn-out weapons. Several Member States are trying to promote a joint purchasing plan outside the EU to try to speed up orders and have identified some suppliers that can make these almost immediate deliveries, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Others, such as the Baltics and Poland, also demand that other partners send more and more powerful weapons to Ukraine, a step that Germany, for example, refuses. Berlin has refused to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to kyiv—very precise weapons that can reach about 500 kilometers. As a background tide, French President Emmanuel Macron has even suggested that sending ground troops from NATO allied countries to Ukraine is not ruled out, even if they do not engage in combat with Russia.

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