The EU needs a “big bang” in the field of defense against the Russian threat. This was stated in an interview with France Press by the European Commissioner for Defense Andrews Kubilius, writes BTA.
"We need to move from what some call a progressive approach in increasing our defense capacity to a ``big bang'' approach to be able to respond to a possible Russian aggression, he said. Kubilius.
This change in approach is all the more necessary as the Russian threat becomes more precise, he warned. “Russia may be ready to launch a military attack against an EU or NATO country before 2030,”, Kubilius warned, citing several intelligence reports.
"The question is to find out if there is enough political will in Europe to defend ourselves," he added.
In response to a question about whether the return of Donald Trump to the White House will be able to convince Europeans to allocate more funds to their own security, Kubilius said: “I see in this a need to spend more on defense, but not because of Trump, but because of Putin“
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. European countries are trying to strengthen their defense industry, but their capacity remains insufficient, notes France Presse.
But according to NATO estimates, published by the media and quoted by Kubilius, it will take until 2044. to add 49 new brigades, 1,500 tanks or another thousand artillery systems to the existing capacity.
According to Kubilius, however, these needs will have to be met before 2030, because the Europeans cannot tell Putin to postpone his plans until 2044.
Kibulus wants the European defense industry to become more powerful, and the EU should have one plan with one clear vision in it for the industry. There should also be long-term contracts, larger orders and clearly earmarked funds, he added.
The European Commissioner said that if, for example, the Europeans ordered 1,500 tanks at once, then their price would not be so high and this would encourage the industry, which needs a long-term perspective.
According to him, 500 billion euros are needed over 10 years for the European defense industry.
23 European NATO countries have pledged to allocate at least 2 percent of their GDP to military spending. But the new NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, wants to increase that threshold. A one percent increase in EU spending is 200 billion euros more to invest in defense, Kibulius said, but he did not yet give clear proposals on how this increase would be financed. He only stated that a common European loan for this purpose does not seem appropriate to him, because this idea makes everyone nervous.
The EU spends less than 0.1 percent of its GDP on military aid to Ukraine, while 9 percent of Russia's GDP is earmarked for defense spending, Kubilius recalled. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to change this equation in order not to repeat the mistakes made in the 1930s, Kubilius warned the EP on Thursday, reports AFP.