EU High Representative / Vice-President Kaja Kallas
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It is my pleasure to do this College readout for the first time.
This morning, we adopted several files related to the White Paper on the future of European Defence and Rearm Europe Plan ‘Readiness 2030′, including two pieces of legislation to strengthen the European defence industry while proposing the necessary flexibilities in expenditures. We will delve into the details of these proposals shortly and I will be happy to answer your questions together with Commissioner [for Defence Industry and Space, Andrius] Kubilius.
In addition, the College also adopted a Comprehensive plan for Savings and Investments Union. Commissioner [for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, Maria Luis] Albuquerque will provide a detailed presentation on this plan immediately after this press conference. Later today, Executive Vice-President Séjourné will host the third press conference here in the press room to outline the Steel and Metals Plan which was also adopted this morning.
We can now turn to the White Paper on the future of European defence and ReArm Europe Plan ‘Readiness 2030′.
When it comes to defence – what we invest in defence – actually shows how we value defence and for the past decade we have not put the[a] very high importance on it.
The international order is undergoing changes of the magnitude not seen since 1945. This is a pivotal moment for European security. It is a pivotal moment for action. Yes, that the needs of additional funding are massive. The proposals we have adopted today are also essential. But for all the important discussions needed on increasing defence spending, the value we add by working together is priceless. It gives us [a] competitive advantage that is unrivalled anywhere in the world. Together we are always stronger. The White Paper on Defence Readiness 2030 is our proposal for how we can work together and the ReArm package brings the financing possibilities to do it.
Three points.
First: making European countries stronger against any military threat. We have identified the capability gaps that Member States have and, in line with the NATO capability priorities, we put forward ideas how to work together to in order to fulfil them. This means replenishing European stocks of ammunition, weapons, military equipment, also to keep them flowing to Ukraine, and developing also a large scale pan European projects.
The EU has important added value. We can support Member States to aggregate demand and harmonise requirements. We can support European industry, ramp up production capacity, and we can also support Member States where they cannot do it alone because it is either too expensive or too complex.
It is faster and cheaper if you work together and interoperability, – which is also a problem for us that the capabilities do not really work together – can be built from the start. Ukraine should be part of this work too. We have a lot to learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience. We should also be in a position to develop defence systems for Ukraine, but also with Ukraine. Member States must remain in the driving seat when it comes to defence.
This is a question of national sovereignty and that is why we must connect our work here in Brussels with the end users, that it means our Member States. We do this through the European Defence Agency, through the EU Military Staff here in Brussels, and by bringing the EU Defence Ministers together regularly. We also have once in a generation opportunity to strengthen Europe’s industry, boost innovation and create a market for defence equipment. And Commissioner Kubilius will talk about this in more detail.
Second, what we are talking about today is more than our security and defence. While some look to destabilise others, a stronger EU can keep working to support others because we have never seen the world as a zero-sum game. We know that wherever you are in the world, peace brings prosperity and stability, from the Middle East, including the stabilisation of Syria – which we discussed Monday at the Syria Conference – to the wider African continent from [the] Sahel, to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
And we will keep working with others who share this view from the UK – where I was yesterday – to Australia, Canada and Japan. This is also why our partners should be part of our cooperative defence projects and initiatives too, where it makes sense for everybody’s interests.
And finally, Ukraine. In the White Paper we take up the proposals from the Military support initiative proposing a support to Ukraine, including more ammunition – at least 2 million rounds per year – as well as air defence and drones, the training and equipping of Ukrainian brigades. This also includes direct support to Ukraine’s defence industry as well as enhanced access to space services.
The new SAFE instrument proposed by the Commission will support these ambitions. Russia’s economy is in full war mode: 40% of the federal budget on the military is more than Russia spends on education, healthcare and social policies combined. Regardless of the ongoing negotiations for peace in Ukraine, this is a long-term investment in a long-term plan of aggression. Ukraine must be armed to avoid any future attacks, and we need a long-term plan to stand up to do this.
To conclude, today we put forward a plan to tackle the immediate threat centre and the build-up European long-term defence. In doing so, we will help European countries meet their NATO capability targets we do this not to fight the war but to prepare for the worst, defend peace in Europe and stand strong for a world where might cannot make right.
Commissioner Andrius Kubilius
First of all thanks Kaja for all your words and for our cooperation in drafting the White Paper. Thanks and gratitude to all our teams and services. There was a lot of job to be done so thanks to everybody.
On this occasion I would like to stress also the role of the Commission President.
President von der Leyen from the very beginning of this mandate made defence a clear priority for this Commission.
Just yesterday she repeated in Copenhagen the essence of what all of us need to do:
“If Europe wants to avoid war, Europe must get ready for war”.
As you remember, intelligence services of Germany and Denmark recently publicly announced, that, according to their knowledge, the Kremlin is preparing to test NATO Article 5 before 2030.
That is why we need to have a “roadmap for “Readiness 2030”:
Because we need to act big.
Those are also the words of President von der Leyen.
There are four key priorities in the White Paper or as we can call it the “roadmap to “Readiness 2030”. I will not go very much into detail but simply just to remind you what this white paper is about:
- Surge in defence spending: creation of opportunity for member states to reach 3.5% of GDP defence spending.
- Closing capability gaps: not only having in mind wars of today but also having in mind wars of tomorrow. It includes massive production of the same, as some experts are saying, also development of strategic enablers, where we have a lot of dependencies, and also implementation of defence projects of common European interests also related with disruptive technologies.
- Increasing support to Ukraine: Again, quoting Commission president, we can say this is still porcupian strategy, and ReArm Europe gives all the member states new possibilities to strengthen our support to Ukraine.
- Strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base: Overcoming fragmentation, pushing for more of European investment, collaborative procurement. And really, we need to understand that different industry is a strategic resource for defence, which sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we need to invest European. Of course, very important job in order for defence industry to move ahead will be the simplification omnibus which we will present in June. And now we are getting a lot of input from different member states and industries about the problems which they are facing, including with too much of bureaucracy, too much of regulation, sometimes misunderstanding with the interpretation of some existing regulations, for example, on related with a green transition, and that is what we shall need to clarify and to make all the possibilities for defence industry to expand without any obstacles.
In short, this is what the White Paper is about. But for me this White Paper is also the end of one hundred days of reflection. Very intensive days of reflection.
With very valuable input from the majority of Member States, with huge number of seminars and conferences, individual meetings with Prime Ministers, Ministers, parliamentarians, defence and space industry leaders, experts and associations.
This process of preparation of the White Paper, and also the geopolitical developments around us, brought us to a clear convergence of our views on what we need to do with our defence capabilities in Europe.
That is how this Roadmap to 2030 was born. Which is just a beginning. Beginning of the road, and not an easy one. Today is not only the end of an initial period of reflection, it is also the start of joint action. To mobilise Europe’s industrial and economic might. To deter aggression and prevent war.
That is why from now on our priority is: Implementation, implementation, implementation.
Putin will not be deterred if we shall read the White Paper to him. He will be deterred if we shall turn the White Paper into action, and if we shall use it to build very real drones, tanks, artillery for our defence.
That is our ambition:
To deter Putin with clear evidence that we are not only stronger in our economy, but also that we are stronger with our democratic political will and our defence capabilities.
That is why implementation is so crucial.
It’s absolutely clear, that to begin implementing “Readiness 2030,” we need a surge in defence spending.
The SAFE proposal the college adopted today is crucial for building up our defence industry and making sure Member States have the weapons they need.
Member States must join forces with other Member States, EU, EEA countries and Ukraine. They will be having possibilities to procure from European industries.
This proposal will also fully integrate Ukraine.
Both as a supplier and a participant of procurement.
And it will create totally new possibilities for Member States to surge their support to Ukraine.
And with the Communication on defence expenditure within the Growth and Stability Pact, which we adopted today, we propose greater flexibility on the national escape clause for defence spending. 1.5% of GDP for defence will be excluded from deficit calculation.
And in conclusion: We need to remember two basic principles where we are talking about defence.
First, defence is a collective good. The defence readiness of individual Member States is an expression of the basic European value of solidarity. Our security depends on our ability to implement collective defence. Collective defence can only be effective if all Member States invest into an appropriate development of their national defence capabilities. Without this kind of investment, defence of other countries is weakened.
And second, 450 million EU citizens should not have to depend on 340 million Americans to defend ourselves against 140 million Russians who can’t defeat 38 million Ukrainians. We really can do better.
It’s time for us to take responsibility for the defence of Europe!
Source – EU Commission