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Global, Ground War
A Dutch soldier (U.S. Army) fires a 120mm illumination mortar round in preparation for European Battle Group certification at Grafenwoehr Training Range, Germany.
BELFAST — The European Commission (EC) has pledged to make the continent’s industrial base more competitive, “maximize its potential” and provide a level of manufacturing readiness to withstand Russian aggression.
This follows the European Commission’s first Defense Industrial Strategy, published today, which aims to break the European Union’s dependence on US military equipment, expand arms production and strengthen cooperation between manufacturers. It includes a proposal to establish a new European Defense Industry Program (EDIP) with the aim of .
To support EDIP, the EU will invest €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) in the project between 2025 and 2027.
This relatively modest funding amount is far below the European Commission’s internal market chief Thierry Breton’s recommendation in January to provide 100 billion euros ($109 billion) in special funding for defense projects. There is.
The European Commission directs and supervises the EU’s laws, policies, and budgeting.
The government said in a statement that the Defense Industrial Strategy “sets out a clear, long-term vision for achieving defense industry readiness in the European Union”, but that readiness will be achieved by member states. He warned that we needed to “invest more and better in the European Union”.
A focus on readiness and the urgent need to adapt to the Russian threat is strongly articulated throughout the text of the strategy itself.
The report said: “Following Russia’s unprovoked and full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Coalition needs to quickly strengthen its defense posture in the face of another violent war in Europe. ” points out. “We need to strengthen defense industrial readiness across the Union, paying particular attention to the specific impact this has on Member States most at risk of conventional military threats materializing.”
Two of the higher goals set out in this document, targeting a total of 27 EU member states, are the joint procurement of 40 per cent of defense equipment by 2030 and the This is an effort to ensure the value of regional defense. “Trade” accounts for 35% of the total EU defense market.
The European Commission also wants to see “steady progress” in member states spending at least 50% of their defense budgets on EU procurement. It remains to be seen how that big change will occur, especially since Europe is so dependent on American military equipment. As an example, approximately 56% of Poland’s new equipment orders from 2018 to 2022 were awarded to U.S. companies, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
Even more concerning, from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to June 2023, 78% of military acquisitions in EU member states were signed with non-European manufacturers, with the US alone accounting for the total. 63%, according to statistics from the French Institute for International Studies. and the think tank Strategic Affairs (IRIS) said: [PDF].
The EU has seen some green shoots of industrial progress, including a 50 percent increase in ammunition production capacity at the Defense Technology and Industrial Base (EDTIB) since the start of the Ukraine war. According to the new strategy, its production capacity is expected to increase in the short term.
EDTIB added: “It already has the capacity to produce 1 million shells per year and is expected to reach a production capacity of more than 1.4 million shells by the end of 2024 and more than 2 million shells by the end of 2025.”
Despite production adjustments, european union was forced to admit that it would not be able to meet its goal of delivering one million shots to Ukraine by the end of this month. Rather, it will take until the end of 2024 for that to happen.
The strategy recognizes that industrial build-up across Europe depends on increased “order volume” by member states, which can only succeed if defense budgets are increased.
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