On Thursday 6 March, Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner responsible for Defence and Space, said that the ‘ReArm Europe’ programme was a “first major step forward” in defence, but that more needed to be done, starting with agreement at EU level on the €1.5 billion European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP).
The Commissioner was questioned by members of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on security and defence challenges (see other news).
Christian Ehler (EPP, German) deplored the blockages of the EDIP programme and suggested adopting a fast-track procedure to bring it to a successful conclusion. “We really need to make progress on EDIP in order to create a single market”, replied Mr Kubilius.
Giorgio Gori (S&D, Italian) felt that the ‘ReArm Europe’ programme risked being insufficient to overcome the shortcomings if Member States were left to invest alone. The European Commissioner explained that this programme included conditionalities on public procurement and he felt that EDIP should be a strong instrument with legal and financial power. Companies need to be helped to work together, according to Mr Kubilius. With ‘ReArm Europe’, Europe has presented a “bold, vigorous defence initiative”, stressed the Commissioner.
“Flexibility will be allowed in calculating the deficit and debt levels. Defence spending will not be included in the calculation of this debt or deficit, and that’s important. And if the Member States use this instrument to increase their defence budgets by 1.5%, that means that over the next four years, we will be talking about €650 billion in additional funding for defence”, explained Mr Kubilius.
Pascale Piera (PfE, French) criticised the €800 billion plan, which she said would create “a mad race for debt”.
As far as the €150 billion loans are concerned, it must be ensured that they are used as quickly as possible, using the “big bang” approach (massive and rapid investment), said Andrius Kubilius. In response to questions, the commissioner said that Member States can use these loans to help Ukraine and that this can be done very quickly, thanks to Article 122 of the Treaty.
With regard to the ‘White Paper’ on defence, due on 19 March, he felt that its content took account of recent events. “Things are moving quickly”, he acknowledged.
He also said that he was in “permanent contact” with Ukraine to support it, should Elon Musk suspend the Starlink satellite programme, and that the European Union could have its first secure satellite communications system by mid-2025. “We need to develop our own capabilities. We also have to look after our Ukrainian colleagues. We are in constant contact, ready to intervene if necessary”, declared Mr Kubilius. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)