PARIS — The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is pushing for member states to spend more on joint defense procurement within the 27-nation bloc, as part of a plan to build up a credible military deterrent against Russia by 2030.
Up to €150 billion ($163 billion) in EU-backed loans would be made available for joint procurement from the European defense industry by two or more member states or a member state with partner countries including Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine, according to a defense white paper released on Thursday.
The 23-page paper called for increased defense spending, and identified critical areas of investment including air defense, military mobility, drones and strategic enablers.
The plan for now excludes the U.K., Turkey and the U.S., though the commission said other partner countries’ entities and products can be eligible for common procurement, subject to an agreement with the EU on financial conditions and security of supply.
“We have this opportunity window to really build up the European defense industry,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top official for foreign affairs and security policy, said at a press conference in Brussels. “What we see also with Ukraine, if they use weapons that are not produced in Ukraine, then sometimes there are limitations on how you can use those weapons. Your military really needs to have free hands in this regard.”
Kallas said the EU is working on a defense and security partnership with the U.K., and the high representative said she’s “really hoping” for results in May, when the EU and the U.K. are scheduled to hold a bilateral summit on strengthening their ties. The white paper calls the U.K. an “essential European ally” with which security and defense cooperation should be increased.
The white paper calls for creating a EU-wide market for defense equipment, by simplifying and harmonizing rules for procurement and intra-EU transfers of defense-related products, as well as mutual recognition of certification and permits.
Kallas said the international order is undergoing “changes of a magnitude not seen since 1945,” and the moment is pivotal for European security. She said Russia’s economy is “in full war mode,” with the country investing in a long-term plan of aggression, and the EU needs a long-term plan to arm Ukraine to avoid future attacks.
The white paper includes three mentions of the United States, one referring to a demand that Europe take more responsibility for its own defense, one about the transatlantic ally turning its focus away from Europe to other regions of the world, and one about the country reducing its historical role as a primary security guarantor.
The priority for Europe must now be on implementing the proposed plan, said Andrius Kubilius, the European commissioner for defense and space.
Russian President Vladimir “Putin will not be deterred if we shall read the white paper to him, he shall be deterred if we shall turn the white paper into action, and if we shall use it to build very real drones, tanks and artillery for our defense,” Kubilius said.
Europe has three areas to tackle, according to Kubilius: massive production of what the continent already makes, such as conventional ammunition; development of strategic enablers such as air-to-air refueling capabilities and space-based intelligence; and defense products of common European interest such as air-defense systems.
The commission will work on defining options for defense projects of common European interest, with the goal of presenting those options to the European Council, possibly in June, Kubilius said. “Member states need to decide which kind of defense projects of common European interest they are ready to implement in the next stage.”
The European Commission earlier this month proposed a plan which it says could free up around €800 billion in defense spending by member countries over the next four years. In addition to the plan for €150 billion in EU-backed loans, the proposal includes loosening fiscal rules that could be used by countries to raise defense spending.
The EU has capability gaps in air and missile defense, artillery systems, ammunition and missiles, drones and counter-drone systems, military mobility, AI and quantum, electronic warfare, and strategic enablers, according to Kallas.
“These all cost a lot of money,” Kallas said. “The point of the white paper is that we can do them together, because it’s not just national defense, but actually regional.” She declined to say what percentage of GDP EU countries should spend on defense, other than to say that “the new level of ambition is higher than 2%.”
The defense white paper proposes that the commission act as a central purchasing body on behalf of member states, if so requested, though Kallas said the EU has structures such as the European Defence Agency, which she said is underused.
Joint procurement “is one of the most important instruments for us to try to diminish the systemic problems of our defense industry, which is very much fragmented,” Kubilius said. “Also we are spending quite a lot of money outside of our defense industry.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
