Kaja Kallas warns the 27: “We spend billions on our schools, our health systems and our social protection. But if we do not spend more on defense, all of this will be put at risk.”
The European Union must increase its defense spending, “prepare for the worst” and be able to defend itself “alone if necessary” against a bellicose Russia, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, said on Wednesday.
“Many of our national intelligence agencies inform us that Russia could test the EU’s ability to defend itself within three to five years“, Ms Kallas said at the European Defense Agency’s annual conference in Brussels.
She stressed that Russia can, in three months, produce more weapons and ammunition than all 27 countries combined in 12 months. “President Trump is right that we are not spending enough.”
Over the next decade, the EU will need at least €500 billion to remain competitive in defense, and so far only around 13 billion euros were earmarked for defense and security in the EU’s long-term budget from 2021 to 2027 (i.e. 1.2% of the total).
The EU traditionally allocates around 1% of the Union’s GDP (1.2 trillion euros) to finance policy priorities ranging from agriculture to socio-economic cohesion between the poorest and richest regions in the framework of the long-term budget, which is to be negotiated again in the summer of 2025 for the seven-year period starting in 2028, where defense will be a key priority.
“We need investment from member states and the private sector, but also from the common European budget. We need to spend more than 1%,” the EU’s top diplomat said.
Last year, member states collectively spent an average of 1.9% of their GDP on defense. Russia, for its part, spent 9%.
There Lithuania recently announced that it would increase its defense spending to between 5% and 6% of GDP from 2026 due to the threat of Russian aggression in the region, but some major economies such as Italy and the Spain still does not reach the 2% target set by NATO.
“Defense is a highly skilled and very intensive industry that requires money, personnel and time. We have money and personnel, but we are short of time. Ukraine is saving us time,” Mr. Kallas said.
“We don’t need a European army. NWe need 27 European armies that can work effectively together to deter our rivals and defend Europepreferably with our allies and partners, but alone, if necessary,” she added.
Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called on Europe to “wake up” and increase its defense spending to reduce its dependence on the United States for security.
“What will we do tomorrow in Europe if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean?” he asked an audience of French soldiers at the Army’s Digital and Cyber Support Command, in the west of France. “If they send their fighter planes from the Atlantic to the Pacific?
The EU’s top diplomat also echoed comments from transatlantic alliance chief Mark Rutte, who said in December that European citizens would have to make sacrifices, including cutting their pensions, healthcare and their security systems, in order to finance increased defense spending and ensure long-term security in Europe.
NATO’s secretary general admitted that while there was no imminent threat to allies, the danger was moving “at full speed” toward the transatlantic alliance. “We’re not at war, but we’re certainly not at peace either” he said.
The new European Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, has recognized that a collective approach could make a big difference in Europe’s preparation for military and even hybrid threats.
“We can no longer afford a fragmented approach. We need a real ‘Big Bang’ approach to increasing the production and acquisition of defense equipment,” the former Lithuanian prime minister said at the defense conference. the AED.
Mr Kubilius highlighted the need for interoperable weapon systems, global demand for the defense industry and more projects of common European interest, such as the Air Defense Shield , the cyber shield and the initiative for the northern and eastern borders.
“The EU’s message to the United States is clear. We must do more for our own defense and take a fair share of responsibility for Europe’s security,” Kallas concluded.