EU eyes defense boost, moving away from US dependency

European Union officials want member states to significantly increase the bloc’s armaments production rather than continue to rely on imports from the United States.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has previously said that to compete with US defense producers, Europe would need to spend about 100 billion euros ($110 billion).

“We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode,” he said. “This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support.”

The plan that Breton announced on Tuesday has earmarked an initial 1.5 billion euros from the current EU budget, which European Commission

Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said was “not a lot of money”.

But Vestager said it was a step toward a situation where the bloc could “take more responsibility” for its communal security, which may be affected by the outcome of the US presidential election in November.

“We need to get that trans-Atlantic balance right, irrespective of electoral dynamics in the US,” she said, in a nod to Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump casting doubt on the US’ commitment to its NATO allies should he win the reelection, Agence France-Presse reported.

Breton said, “In the current geopolitical context, Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security, regardless of the outcome of our allies’ elections every four years.”

European Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen, who was defense minister in her native Germany before moving into European politics, has already said it would be “reasonable” to have a dedicated European defense commissioner in the future, and she would introduce one if she is reelected in the summer.

The comments came weeks after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued a similar call to European partners at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new munitions factory in the Saxony region, saying that “the painful reality is that we do not live in times of peace”.

“We must move from manufacturing to mass production of armaments … those who want peace must be able to successfully deter aggressors,” Scholz said.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict recently led EU member states Finland and Sweden to end years of military nonalignment by applying to join the NATO military alliance.

Finland became the 31st member in April, and Sweden’s membership is being processed after the last political barriers were removed.