French President Emmanuel Macron called today for "preferential purchase" of European weapons, with which the EU would be more independent from the US, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
"When we decide to buy, let's choose European. That way we will be more independent, it's that simple", Macron said before the informal EU meeting in Brussels dedicated to defense, which will also include NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"The Covid epidemic and Russian aggression in Ukraine were signals that we need to wake up. But what is happening today - the election and the statements of the new US administration of President Trump - further encourage Europeans to be more united and more active in responding to concerns about their collective security," the French head of state stressed.
Europeans must continue to develop their defense industry, their defense industrial and technological base, to make more investments, to prefer European production, Emmanuel Macron insisted, although many countries continue to seek to buy weapons manufactured in the United States to appease Washington and protect their own interests.
According to Macron, there will be more European funding for defense - both public and private. According to him, this will happen through the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as by removing military spending from the budgetary rules in the European Stability and Growth Pact. He stressed that priority should also be given to conducting pan-European public procurement for rearmament.
Nineteen European Union countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, have called on the EIB to provide more funds for rearmament to help the EU deal with threats from Russia, as the Luxembourg-based bank is currently not allowed to finance armaments-related activities, such as the purchase and production of ammunition or missiles.