EU leaders have different views on where to buy arms
The leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union have different views on whether to spend money from EU funds on the purchase of weapons within the European Union or to allow purchases from the United States.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.
The idea of directing all procurement, which will come jointly from the EU, and not from individual member states of the bloc, to procurement within the European Union is promoted by France. "It is by deciding to buy and give preference to European procurement that the EU will become more independent. It's quite simple," French President Emmanuel Macron said on his arrival at the summit.
Macron insists that Europe should play a greater role in ensuring the security of the bloc.
According to the Draghi Report (a report by economist and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi), between mid-2022 and mid-2023, 63% of all EU defense orders were placed with US companies, and another 15% with other suppliers outside the EU. Draghi recommended that the EU increase production within the bloc.
At the same time, the Baltic states insist that there is no time to wait for an increase in production within the EU and warn against deteriorating relations with the United States if arms purchases are reduced. "The purchase of military equipment from the United States will be an issue that creates a constructive, not a destructive economic agenda," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, arriving at the EU leaders' summit.
In any case, the EU member states will have to spend more on defense, the leaders insisted as they arrived at the summit.
Last year, EU countries spent an average of 1.9% of GDP on defense. This is 30% more than in 2021, but still does not reach 2%, as agreed within NATO back in 2014, after the start of Russia's hybrid aggression against Ukraine. In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump insists that the defense spending target should now be raised to 5% of GDP.
