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On Wednesday, the European Commission proposes plans to acquire a groundbreaking new defense role by helping member states adjust their increasing military spending.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused major changes in Europe’s defense policy, pushing Sweden and Finland into NATO members and forcing countries to spend more on military supplies. Even Germany, which has long been accused of low defense spending within NATO in the midst of historic changes, has vowed to increase its military budget and put heavy weapons on Ukrainian troops trapped in the fight against Russia. I chose to send it.
Faced with this re-military continent, officials and diplomats said Wednesday’s “Defense-EU” plan by allowing European buyers to form clubs together for market leverage. He said he aims to give Brussels a role in ensuring higher efficiency in arms spending. Consistent with Europe’s ambitions for broader “strategic autonomy,” EU officials argued that the package would have a strong industrial component. The highlight of the announcement is expected to be the Commission’s assessment of the European “defense investment gap”.
European needs are imminent. According to diplomats, the deployment of € 2 billion worth of weapons that the EU has so far agreed to provide to Ukraine is often emptied by member states, especially those with Soviet-era ammunition in the east. It means that you did. Now need to be replenished.
In a brief summary of what the EU was trying to achieve, foreign policy director Josep Borrell said, “Europeans need to spend more and better together.”
Wednesday’s Defense-The financial firepower and effectiveness of the EU package has not yet been seen, but even adventures into such areas can cause controversy. Historically, some European countries have been very concerned about defense policy turmoil because of the potential for overlap with NATO and the fear of offending the United States, which leads the Western security alliance.
A European Commission official said, “This is new and is breaking taboos,” and acknowledged that the treaty’s obligations “prevent funding factors that influence defense operations.”
To avoid that legal impediment, authorities suggested that Brussels could focus on a broader manufacturing ecosystem rather than an immediate “defense effort.” The new Defense EU program will “focus on’industrially ambitious investments’,” he said.
“Industry-related things aren’t necessarily business-related,” officials added.
European Commission officials said the program is funded through the EU’s regular budget and may test some legal boundaries. The EU Treaty has long been interpreted as prohibiting the European Commission from using its common budget to purchase weapons. Other officials and diplomats said group buying could be funded using a new out-of-budget fund.
European Commission Defense-Details of the EU plan were first reported by the French news site B2.
Order from Versailles
The plan is the Commission’s response to instructions from 27 national leaders at the European Council Summit in March in Versailles, which has been on the long list of hopes for better security cooperation. We have imposed on the Commission to act on the basis.
The general concept of co-procurement was briefly discussed at the EU Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. The EU already has a European Defense Force (EDF) that will be used to fund joint research and development programs. There is also the European Defense Agency (EDA) to help coordinate security policies. To conclude the list is an out-of-budget European peace facility. It is used to provide military aid, including weapons, to partner countries. Ukraine has been its main beneficiary since the beginning of the war.
However, the EU has never coordinated joint defense spending between member states.
At a post-meeting briefing on Tuesday, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the next step, including the amount of money that could be put into the joint spending program and the legal mechanism to control it, was the security identified by the Commission. He said it depends heavily on needs.
“I think the Commission will release a report on the capacity gap tomorrow,” Olongren told reporters. “So that was really what the European leaders of Versailles asked.”
Given the resurgence of the war on Europe and the threat posed by Russia, Olongren said better coordination and more efficient spending are urgent and urgent tasks.
“I think it’s really important for us to try,” she said. “Now we have EDF. It’s on the R & D side. We have already found the right mechanism to better coordinate it and get better cooperation between countries. I think. Procurement, well, from a treaty point of view, some solution is needed, but I think the rationale for the Versailles Agreement is important because it states: “Some way to procure.” ”
Time to start spending
Mr Olongren said the European Peace Facility operates under intergovernmental agreements between member states, outside the EU’s regular budget.
“Of course, we are doing that between governments, for example now at EPF, by supporting Ukraine,” she said. “It’s possible, so it doesn’t have to be at the European Commission level, but in a way, we need to make sure we get the right incentives, like EDF. cooperate”
Mr Olongren added that ministers need the results of the Commission’s evaluation to take further steps. “I couldn’t really talk because there wasn’t any material on the table,” she said. “But we’re heading in that direction, and I think the first move in that direction is to first see what the capacity gap really is.”
“We, along with the Commission, are the leaders of Versailles,” he said at a Tuesday meeting of the European Defense Agency’s Steering Committee (an organization of EU Defense Ministers). Borel, EU foreign policy director, said at the final press conference of the Defense Ministers’ Meeting.
The analysis added, “We are looking at the gap in the short term.” The first thing to do is to replenish the stockpile of military materials. In the medium term, existing functionality needs to be enhanced, and in the long term, it needs to be enhanced and modernized. “
“… Spending made with the general approach is declining. Contrary to rationality, it is declining. So it’s time to improve this trend and do something else. ”
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