EU to increase weapons production based on COVID-19 experience - European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (Getty Images)
The European Commission is developing a strategy for the development of the defense industry, taking into account the experience of using taxpayer funds to increase the production of COVID-19 vaccines and for joint gas procurement, according to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
She says Brussels should stimulate the European defense industry to increase production and consolidation.
At the same time, von der Leyen warned that "the world has become tougher."
"We have to spend more, we have to spend better, we have to spend European," she said.
The plan to strengthen Europe's military-industrial complex in the face of growing threats from Russia is expected to be announced this month; it will need to be approved in the capitals of countries, some of which may resist the European Commission's attempts to centralize decisions on defense investment.
EU officials seek to maximize the significant increase in military spending by member countries following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to create a larger, stronger, and more efficient European defense industry.
"We have a very fragmented defence market and that needs to change. What is the competence of the commission? It's industry. It's our main business. We facilitate, we don't buy," she emphasized.
It was previously reported that the EU is considering the possibility of creating the position of a European Commissioner for Defense, who will oversee the industrial aspects of defense policy.
