According to a blueprint released by the European Union on Wednesday, the EU plans to further increase military spending, consolidate resources for joint defense projects, and purchase more European weapons to strengthen its defense, deterrence, and resilience against Russia.
The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, proposed military recommendations in the “White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030” to ensure that Europe has a “strong and sufficient” defense posture by 2030.
“Now is the time for us to take on the responsibility for European defense. The international order is undergoing profound changes unseen since 1945. This is a critical moment for European security,” said Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in Brussels.
Kallas pointed out that Russia’s economy is in a “total war mode,” with 40% of its federal budget allocated to military spending. “Regardless of the peace negotiations in Ukraine, this is a long-term investment in their aggressive plans,” she emphasized.
EU countries have begun to strengthen their defense capabilities to address the situation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With U.S. President Trump urging the EU to bolster its military defense while the U.S.’s main focus shifts to its own borders and the Indo-Pacific region, the military efforts in Europe have become more urgent.
“We cannot rely on 340 million Americans to protect 450 million EU citizens from the attacks of 140 million Russians, who cannot defeat 38 million Ukrainians,” stated Andrius Kubilius, European Defense Commissioner.
“We can really do better. Now is the time for us to take on the responsibility for European defense,” he added.
The blueprint calls for Europe to bridge the “capability gap” in areas such as air defense, missile defense, artillery, ammunition and missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, military transportation, artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, and infrastructure protection.
The EU document includes proposals to increase defense spending by member states that were put forth earlier this month. This includes the European Commission borrowing €1500 billion to be lent to EU governments for defense projects and relaxing EU rules on public finances, potentially raising an additional €650 billion.
While many EU governments have expressed support for these proposals, the operational aspects are likely to be a subject of intense debate, including issues surrounding who should have the authority to decide on joint projects, who should manage them, and how they should be funded.
The proposals in the document require approval from the governments of EU member states and, in some cases, the European Parliament to become law.
The European Commission suggested in the document that it could act as a “central procurement agency” on behalf of EU member states. However, some EU countries have already voiced opposition, preferring to retain decision-making power within national governments.
The document also outlines the Commission’s commitment to establishing a truly EU-wide market for defense equipment to simplify and coordinate regulations. These measures aim to reduce the fragmentation of the European defense industry, as currently, many manufacturers produce different weapon systems for various governments.
For instance, according to McKinsey’s analysis, Europe has 19 main battle tanks compared to the United States’ one, and Europe has 17 torpedoes while the US only has two.