The heads of state and government will examine, on Thursday 21 March, the EU’s state of defence preparedness.
“Now that we are facing the biggest security threat since the Second World War, it is high time we take radical and concrete steps to be defence-ready and put the EU’s economy on a ‘war footing’”, warns the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in his letter of invitation to the summit.
“The European Union is committed to increasing its overall defence readiness and capabilities to match its needs and ambition in the context of rising threats and security challenges”, the EU leaders will stress, according to draft conclusions.
“The European defence technological and industrial base should be strengthened across the Union” and “increasing defence readiness and enhancing the Union’s sovereignty will require additional efforts”, Member States are expected to warn, listing what should be done (see EUROPE 13370/2).
Although this point was not fully developed in the draft conclusions of 11 March, of which Agence Europe had a copy, according to the draft, the EU Council will in particular call for improved access to public and private funding for the European defence industry. In this context, the European Council is expected to invite the EU Council and the Commission “to explore all options for mobilising funding and report back by June. Furthermore, the European Investment Bank is invited to adapt its policy for lending to the defence industry and its current definition of dual-use goods, while safeguarding its financing capacity”, adds the document. On 18 March, 14 Member States called on the EIB to become more involved in defence financing (see EUROPE 13373/15).
The leaders could discuss the possibility of Eurobonds for defence, advocated by the Estonian Prime Minister and the French President, but which do not yet enjoy the EU27’s unanimous support. “What we want is to have no a priori limitations on the sources of funding that can be imagined or mobilised. And so, for us, the Eurobond issue is part of the landscape and must be examined”, explained a source from the Élysée. Some Member States place greater emphasis on private investment, claiming that a market-based industry is very expensive.
The heads of state or government will also request that work on the Joint Communication on a European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the accompanying proposal for a European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) progress rapidly.
On Wednesday 20 March, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that she had asked former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö - who had accepted - to prepare a report on how to improve Europe’s civilian and defence preparedness and readiness. It will be drawn up in close cooperation with the High Representative of the Union and the Member States, she added. According to Ms von der Leyen, the EU could learn from Finland, which has a comprehensive civil protection strategy, so that the population can be prepared for all emergencies, including military threats.
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/bfg (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, with the editorial staff)