PARIS – The European Commission, the European Union’s enforcement arm, is pushing for member states to spend more on joint defense procurement within the 27-nation bloc as part of a plan to build a reliable military deterrence against Russia by 2030.
EU-backed loans of up to 150 billion euros ($163 billion) will be available for joint procurement from the European defense industry with two or more member states with partner countries, including Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine, according to the defense white paper released on March 19.
The 23-page paper called for increased defense spending and identified key investment areas such as air defense, military mobility, drones and strategic enablers.
The current plan excludes the UK, Turkey and the US, but the committee said entities and products from other partner countries could be subject to common procurement subject to agreement with the EU on the financial situation of supply and security.
“There is a window of this opportunity to truly build the European defence industry,” Kaja Karas, the top official in EU foreign and security policy, told a press conference in Brussels. “What you can see in Ukraine is that if you use weapons that are not produced in Ukraine, there may be restrictions on how you use those weapons. Your army really needs to have free hands in this respect.”
Karas said the EU is working on a defense and security partnership with the UK, and senior officials said they “really hope for the results” in May, when the EU and the UK are set to hold a bilateral summit to strengthen their ties. The white paper calls the UK “an essential European allies” that should increase security and defence cooperation.
The white paper calls for the creation of an EU-wide market for defense equipment through simplification and harmonization of rules for procurement and intra-EU transfers and mutual recognition of certification and authorization.
Crows said that the international order was undergoing “a change in size that has not been seen since 1945”, and that moment was crucial for European security. She said that Russia’s economy is in “a perfect war mode”, that the country is investing in long-term attack plans, and that the EU needs a long-term plan to arm Ukraine to avoid future attacks.
The white paper contains three references to the United States. One mentions the demand that Europe be more responsible for its own defense.
European priorities must now be necessary for implementation of the proposed program, said Andrius Kubilius, European Defense and Space Commissioner.
Russian President Vladimir said, “President Putin would not be stopped if he reads white paper. If he turns blank paper into action, he will be deterred and use it to build very realistic drones, tanks and cannons for defense,” Kubilius said.
According to Kubilius, Europe has three areas to tackle. Large-scale production of things that the continent has already made, such as traditional ammunition. Development of strategic enablers such as inter-aviation fueling capabilities and space-based intelligence. Defense products of general interests in Europe, such as the Air-Defense system.
The committee will work on defining options for defence projects of general interest in Europe, with the aim of presenting these options to the Council of Europe in June, Kubilius said. “Member countries need to determine which defence projects of general interest in Europe are ready to implement in the next phase.”
Earlier this month, the Commission proposed a plan that states that it could release around 800 billion euros in defence spending by member states over the next four years. In addition to the EU-backed loan plan of 150 billion euros, the proposal includes loosening of fiscal rules that the country can use to increase defence spending.
According to Kallas, the EU has a capacity gap between aviation and missile defense, gun systems, ammunition systems, ammunition and missiles, drones and counter-drone systems, military mobility, AI and quantum, electronic warfare and strategic enablers.
“All of these costs a lot,” Karas said. “The point of the white paper is that it’s not just defense, it’s actually regional, so we can do it together.” She refused to say which percentage of GDP EU countries should be spent on defense, besides saying, “New levels of ambition are above 2%.”
The defense whitepaper proposes that the Commission will act as a central purchasing agency on behalf of member states, but if that request occurs, Karas said the EU has a structure such as a European defense agency.
Joint procurement is “one of the most important means of trying to reduce systematic problems in the defense industry and is highly fragmented,” Kubilius said. “We’re also spending quite a lot of money outside of the defense industry.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a European correspondent for Defense News. He began his career with Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
