The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said on Thursday 25 June that “we (should) continue to fight” to increase the budget allocated to the European Defence Fund (EDF), hoping that it will exceed €10 billion.
Speaking before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), the Commissioner pointed out that the Commission's latest proposal brought the fund to 9 billion, compared with 7 billion under the proposal of the Finnish Presidency of the Council, an amount he described as “very insufficient”.
“We're going to keep working. It would be nice to have a double-digit number. We have made progress in comparison with Finland and we will have to keep moving forward”, he explained, calling for the support of the members of the SEDE Subcommittee in order to obtain an “adequate budget”, especially as there was a “significant risk” that the economic crisis linked to the Covid-19 would have an impact on national defence budgets.
“We must find a way to better harmonise our joint efforts and pool our equipment”, Mr Breton argued, adding that the EDF made it possible to “start working much better together”.
The Commissioner also hoped that military mobility would see its budget increased. The current proposal is €1.5 billion. Mr Breton said that the new Recovery and Resilience Facility, which has yet to be agreed, could be used on the aspect of mobility and the overhaul of certain infrastructures. It could be endowed with €560 million (€310 million in grants and up to €250 million in loans).
Mr Breton also returned to the EU's strategic autonomy, which, in his view, is developing along three lines. First of all, the EU must look after its own interests, in particular through the EDF or permanent structured cooperation, which must be “strengthened from an operational point of view”. The Commissioner felt that European technology was needed so as not to have to choose between American or Chinese technology and that it was not a question of embarking on an arms race, but of ensuring autonomy.
Moreover, the EU must not become “the battleground of Sino-American tensions”, but must assert itself by using its best asset, the internal market, with the establishment of “clear but strict” rules.
Finally, in the face of hybrid and cyber threats, the EU must, according to Mr Breton, work on the triptych of detection capabilities, reaction capabilities and deterrence capabilities. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)