Estonia, France and Poland call for urgent improvement of Europe's defense readiness
The three countries called for an urgent increase in European defense readiness (Getty Images)
Three European countries have outlined their priorities within the framework of the new European Defense Industrial Strategy. Estonia, France, and Poland have called for an urgent increase in combad readiness, according to The Guardian.
"We are in a race against time... We must ensure that the ambition of the Strategy is proportionate and backed by concrete actions that support our combat capability," the document states.
The three countries have said that the strategy aims to:
- Improve the long-term capacity of EU defence industry to provide for the needs of our armed forces, reduce strategic dependencies, and enhance the ability to scale up production quickly in times of crises;
- Support a fundamental increase in Member States’ levels of battle-decisive munition stocks, availability of key weapon systems and other capabilities across domains;
- Enhance the EU’s and its Member States’ competitive edge in (military and dual-use) technology and innovation, including by removing bottlenecks, securing supply chains, and improving access to growth finance;
- Strengthen cooperation with and encourage Ukraine’s participation in its defence industrial initiatives.
They also warned of the need for sufficient funding to achieve ambitious goals.
"We call upon the Commission to present concrete funding options... Inadequate funding now will only mean higher expenditure at a later date," the document reads.
