EU’s new arms strategy aimed at reducing dependencies
| The European Union Commission presented its new weapons strategy in order to be more independent from its partners, especially the United States, and to produce more domestic weapons as a consequence of the Ukraine war. |
In this way, the wide expansion of European arms production and less dependence on the United States are the goals of the new defense strategy that the EU Commission presented today (Tuesday) in Brussels. Margrethe Vestager, the vice president of the European Union Commission, warned without mentioning that Donald Trump may become the American president again: We must accept more responsibility for our security.
states that member states must spend at least 50% of the budget planned for the procurement of defense equipment in the European internal market by 2030. By 2035, this amount should reach 60%.
According to Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, approximately 80% of the budget currently goes to countries outside the EU and 60% to the United States alone. It flows. He emphasized that this is no longer acceptable, maybe it was once tolerable.
Vestager said the European Union should take more responsibility for its security. At the same time, he assured that the Europeans are “totally loyal to NATO”. Joseph Borrell, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, also said: “After decades of low spending, we must invest more in defense.” , but we have to do it better and together.
Terry Breton, the commissioner of the internal market, who is also responsible for defense, said: We spend three times as much as Russia on defense.
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Orzo La von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, also announced on the X channel: member states should not necessarily spend more, but should adopt a “better, coordinated and European” approach to defense spending.
According to the European Commission, the intention to strengthen the European arms industry is also a consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine. This war highlighted the military and industrial deficits of the Europeans. Based on the decisions taken, the future focus should be on expanding the production of drones.
The Commission’s proposals also include financial incentives: if EU countries join together in defense projects, they should get rid of additional costs.
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The European Commission initially wants to mobilize 1.5 billion euros from the EU budget until 2027 for these projects. Vestager admitted that this was not enough. However, this money can be an incentive for member states to invest.
Not only the European Union should benefit from the Commission’s plans, but Ukraine should also benefit from it. As one EU official put it, Ukraine should be integrated into Europe’s weapons programs “virtually like a member state.” Cooperation in the field of artillery ammunition, where a joint procurement initiative has already been in place for almost a year, will serve as a model for this.
According to the European Commission, the EU should in When buying military equipment such as fighter jets, drones or ammunition, it becomes significantly independent from its partners like the United States. It is not yet clear whether they will be supported or not. Europe increased by 50%
| © | Webangah News Hub has translated this news from the source of Tasnim News Agency |
