Andrius Kubilius will consider his work successful if he manages to invest more than 500 billion euros over the next few years in the development of the European military-industrial complex.
The European Union must quickly strengthen its defense, since Russia may be ready for confrontation in six to eight years years.
This was stated by the new EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius in an interview with Reuters.
The main tasks of Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister, will be to stimulate the EU's military-industrial complex, encourage member states to spend more on defence, and attract European arms manufacturers to active cross-border cooperation.
The creation of this position in the European Commission reflects the fact that the security issue has become a priority on the EU political agenda since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“NATO defense ministers and generals agree that Vladimir Putin may be ready for a confrontation with NATO and the EU in 6-8 years. If we take these assessments seriously, then this is not enough time for us to properly prepare. This means that we will have to make quick decisions, and ambitious decisions,” Kubilius said on Wednesday, September 18.
He added that his first job would be to determine, together with EU Foreign Policy Commissioner Kaja Kallas, the resources the EU needs to prepare for a military challenge. Kubilius plans to complete the preliminary study within his first 100 days as EU commissioner.
He also noted that underinvestment in EU defense over the past decade has led to the “poor state” of the European defense industry.
At the same time, trying to influence the defense industry of European countries will not be an easy task, because the EC does not have the legal authority to develop defense policy. Currently, EU countries coordinate their defense through NATO. But Kubilius sees his new post as a complement to NATO, not as competition with the Alliance.
“The EU will not have defense plans or military leadership like NATO, instead it has tools to attract more funding, which is exactly what NATO does not have,” the new European Commissioner noted.
According to Kubilius, he “would be happy” to invest more than 500 billion euros over the next few years in the development of the European defense industry. At the same time, he noted that other members of the European Commission will be dealing with the issue of finding funds.
“The Defense Commissioner should know where to spend the money, not how to get it,” Kubilius noted.
The new European Defense Commissioner suggested that options for financing the expansion of the defense industry include issuing joint defense bonds, using funds from the European Recovery and Resilience Fund after the pandemic, or attracting the European Investment Bank.
Recall that Ursula von der Leyen, who will head the European Commission for the second time, has finally presented her team. Several influential positions will be occupied by Ukraine's friends from the Baltics. But contrary to forecasts, they will not get the expansion portfolio.
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