The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pushed on Wednesday September 13 for a real European defense industry strategy, but failed to send a clear signal to arms manufacturers of the block.
“We will work on the European Defense Industry Strategy to determine how we can help our industry accelerate the production of critical equipment,” von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
In her State of the Union address, she called conflicts in recent years over investment in the bloc’s defense industries the start of a “European Defense Union.”
“We have started to build the European Defense Union of 27,” the president declared towards the end of her speech. “I think we can end it at 30+,” she continued, referring to a European Union enlarged to include the countries of Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.
Over the past year and a half, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU executive has launched a number of funds and programs aimed at supporting the production and procurement of defense goods in the whole EU.
As Europeans rushed to help Ukraine by supplying all kinds of weapons, including large quantities of munitions, missiles and air defense equipment, the EU executive looked for ways to support and sponsor this new defense policy.
But so far, all programs and funds have been rather short-term.
The law on strengthening the European defense industry through joint public procurement (EDIRPA), the Ammunition Production Support Act (as soon as possible), and the intergovernmental program Joint munitions purchases are all based on temporary frameworks, which expire in 2025.
THE European Defense FundThe regulations, established in 2021 to invest in research and development, end in 2027.
New strategy for the defense industry
This new “European defense industry strategy” aimed at boosting the production of critical equipment resembles that of the European law on defense production on which the European executive is working, as well as Euroactiv reported earlierwhich would probably include the regulations initially proposed in ASAPwhose negotiations have been postponed.
It is also close to the idea of the much-anticipated European Defense Investment Program (EDIP), initially intended to offer a VAT exemption, which was also postponed at a later date.
This strategy comes at a time when no member state can develop its industrial capacity alone, “it requires European cooperation, not only in research and development but also on the industrial front,” said von der Leyen.
She said the work should go further than that already done on the munitions front. “We also need to look beyond the subject of munitions: air defense, maritime space and cyber, for example. »
The European Commission is currently considering an overhaul of its defense R&D fund in order to focus investments on defense capabilities, or “super-priorities” of common interest, EURACTIV reported this week.
She also referred to the contentious subject to identify and secure supply chains. “No industrial bottleneck should prevent us from protecting Europe and providing our full support to Ukraine.”
“The European defense industry is operating at full capacity, but that is not enough. Because to strengthen Ukraine’s deterrence, we must increase the production of our capabilities, our military capabilities.”
For the president, when he talks about plans to supply Ukraine security guarantees To deter any further Russian attack, “Europe comes into play by ensuring Ukraine’s long-term security, which has strong implications for our defense industry.”
All this will have to be done in “synergies” with NATO, underlined the President of the Commission, without going into the details of what this strategy would look like for the Union.
Trust in ASAP
Von der Leyen said she was confident that the €500 million fund to help the industry invest in new munitions production capacity – the Ammunition Support Act (ASAP) – “will contribute to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs.
That said, it will be very difficult to respond to Ukraine’s “immediate” needs in the shortest possible time, a European diplomat told Euractiv.
National experts are still working on the work program, to determine which equipment the fund will be used for, which will not be finalized until October..
The industry will then have to respond to calls for subsidies and contracts should be signed next spring, a European diplomat told Euractiv on condition of anonymity.
This take-up rate will most likely be the result of a mix of previous investments from large European companies, rather than EU funding for this purpose.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said he was “confident” that the goal of delivering one million cartridges to Ukraine in 12 months will be achieved, counting on donations from member states as soon as possible.
(Editing by Alexandra Brzozowski/Zoran Radosavljevic)