The Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, Terry Reintke (German), and the coordinator for the Greens/EFA in the Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, Mārtiņš Staķis (Latvian), argued, on Thursday 5 February, for greater European integration in the field of defence.
“We need a common procurement system. We want to go from 20% as the target now to 50% for the share of common procurement because this would really be a game-changer. And, of course (...) we also want to have a European system so that we can with this common procurement not only support the US defence industry, but also build a very strong and independent European defence industry”, explained Terry Reintke at a press briefing.
She also highlighted the need for greater equipment interoperability. “The EU has to deliver, in a common defence market, common standards that make sure that there is interoperability. Like this the soldiers can work together, the different armies can work together much more smoothly and (...) efficiently because this is what we will need (...) to build closer cooperation in the military field”, she explained.
Mārtiņš Staķis argued for a pan-European land force of around 100,000 troops to replace US ground forces stationed in Europe, if necessary. “The main objective is to create this force with the support of the United States, a force that would complement NATO and have a clear European chain of command”, he explained.
Asked about a European army, Terry Reintke explained that it was more a question of whether the EU was ready to take the next step towards integration. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)