Laying out her vision of the new strategy to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Von der Leyen said: “At the heart of this must be a simple principle: Europe must spend more, spend better, spend European.”
Von der Leyen said the commission will make proposals for the new defense industry strategy in coming weeks
I was surprised the first Trump presidency wasn’t a big wake up call for the EU to stand more on its own and lessen dependency on the US. I think they thought it would go back to normal after Trump, but with a second term at least possible, it needs to be ready for it.
Too bad we let 4 years to pass doing nothing
Just wait and see how we are also going to pass the next 4 years.
Oh, I know. It it already something we talked about it.
It is not just Trump either, could be DeSantis or Abbot next or one of the other younger crazies like Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz,…
Try our new locally sourced, sustainable military industrial complex with the “EU fair trade armament” seal of approval.
I’m very curious about the future of European military development.
Until now, a lot of decisions regarding the financing of our armed forces and the development/production of necessary equipment seems to have been held back heavily by the unpopularity of spending money on something not (yet) directly affecting the population, similar to developments regarding climate change.
I do hope that we, as Europe and the countries therein, will swallow that pill to prepare for something that will hopefully never happen rather than start scrambling once it is too late.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official called on Wednesday for a new defense industry strategy to respond to security challenges posed by Russia’s war on Ukraine with the purchase of weapons and ammunition made in Europe at its heart.
Reluctant to invest in staff and equipment without firm orders, the defense industry has been slow to ramp up production, most notably of the artillery shells that Ukraine so badly needs.
The creeping realization that former U.S. President Donald Trump might return to the White House and undermine support for Ukraine has also focused minds in Europe.
Germany, for example, announced a 100 billion-euro ($108 billion) upgrade of its armed forces, with a big chunk of the funds dedicated to U.S. F-35 fighter jets and transport helicopters.
The head of the EU’s powerful executive branch also said that “it is time to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine.”
Von der Leyen, who is campaigning for a second term in office, also told the EU lawmakers that “I am personally supportive of a designated defense commissioner for the next commission,” without elaborating on what that portfolio might involve.
The original article contains 553 words, the summary contains 201 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
