Following their discussions with the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk (see EUROPE 13563/1), MEPs continued their discussions on Wednesday 22 January on strengthening the security and defence of the European Union in the face of “hostile actors”.
Germany’s Marie-Agnès Strack-Zimmermann (Renew Europe) urged Europeans to defend themselves collectively, in cooperation with NATO, in the face of current threats, particularly those posed by Russia.
According to the MEP, the EU’s lack of determination after the first Russian attack on Ukraine in 2014 sent signals of weakness to Moscow.
“The second Russian attack in 2022 is based precisely on this indecision, on this deafening silence. Putin assumed that we had no answer to him”, she argued. Adding: “But we do have answers, and we must provide them if we want to continue to live in peace and freedom in the future”.
Sharing this objective, Poland’s Minister for European Affairs, Adam Szłapka, called for a rapid increase in Member States’ defence spending. “We need to spend substantially more, but also better and faster. By working together, we can address critical capability gaps, ramp up production capacity across Europe and mobilise additional funding”, he said.
According to the European Commission, investments in the ‘European Defence Fund’, the Act in Support of Ammunition Production, as well as increased joint procurement of defence products through the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) demonstrate the EU’s concrete initiatives to strengthen its industrial preparedness, while supporting Ukraine.
A ‘White Paper’ setting out the Commission’s strategy in this area is expected in March (see EUROPE 13539/21).
In the meantime, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, has stressed the European Parliament’s “essential” role in ensuring the rapid adoption of the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) (see EUROPE 13496/12).
“Strengthening the European Union’s security and defence capabilities requires a comprehensive, cross-sectoral, cross-border approach. And we count on the European Parliament’s support in putting the European Union on track to protect our people”, concluded the Commissioner.
Throughout the debate, many MEPs, from the left to the radical right of the Chamber, argued in favour of strengthening the European defence industry. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)