For the first time, the European Commission is to include a Commissioner for Defence and Space in its College.
Although defence is essentially a national competence – and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is also responsible for it – “there is a lot that Europe can do to support [the armed forces] in terms of investment, industry, procurement, research, innovation and much more”, emphasises the mission letter of the Commissioner-designate.
Former Lithuanian Prime Minister and current MEP in the EPP Group, Andrius Kubilius, is expected to take on this responsibility, if confirmed by the European Parliament.
“For the first time, the EU will have a Commissioner for Defence with a very clear task: to push forward the establishment of a European Defence Union and also to boost investment in defence”, he summed up to a number of media, including Agence Europe, on Tuesday 17 September in Strasbourg.
According to his mission letter, Mr Kubilius, in collaboration with the High Representative, Kaja Kallas, will have to present the White Paper on the future of European defence within the first 100 days of his mandate. This Paper “should frame a new approach to defence and identify investment needs to deliver full-spectrum European defence capabilities based on joint investments, readying the EU and Member States for the most extreme military contingencies”, the letter states.
The Commissioner will have to work to create a genuine Single Market for Defence products and services, by “enhancing production capacity and fostering joint procurement of European equipment”, and further pursue the standardisation and harmonisation of defence equipment.
Mr Kubilius will also be responsible, “ in collaboration with the Member States and in close coordination with NATO”, for leading work on proposing Defence Projects of Common European Interest and working on military mobility.
The defence industry will also be a major focus of his mission. “We are not going to compete with NATO or the Member States on defence plans or deterrence plans. (...) The EU is able to bring added value to the issue of defence resources. We can help Member States, really, in this direction with assisting the defence industry to become much more competitive and achieving that Member States buy from the European defence industry”, summarised Mr Kubilius.
In particular, the Commissioner will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS), supporting the “swift” conclusion of negotiations on the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and working to strengthen the European Defence Fund.
Encouraging public and private investment in defence will be another aspect of the portfolio. Without wanting to comment on the origin of the resources, Mr Kubilius said that there was not enough money on the table and that it was not possible to wait until the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework was up and running. We need to “come down to very concrete decisions as soon as possible”, he stressed.
Space. With regard to space, the Commissioner will have to ensure the continued implementation of the EU’s space strategy for security and defence and “foster a strong and innovative space industry, maintaining the EU’s autonomous, reliable and cost-effective access to space”. In addition, he will focus on the development, deployment and use of EU space assets and lead work on a future proposal for an EU Space Law.
To see the mission letter: https://aeur.eu/f/dh7 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)