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BRUSSELS – Internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said on Tuesday he wants to establish a huge EU defense fund of 100 billion euros.
He is due to present his European Defense Investment Plan (EDIP) on February 27, which aims to make the EU more combat-ready by boosting joint arms procurement and increasing domestic production of arms and ammunition. That’s a lot of money.
“We think we need to have a huge defense fund to help accelerate that, perhaps even on the order of 100 billion euros,” said Brereton, who is also responsible for defense. He made the remarks at an event organized by the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament.
“I am confident that we will do this,” he said, adding that EU leaders will discuss the matter at a summit in early February. Decisions to allocate EU budget to the defense industry must be approved by the European Council.
Breton also insisted that the EU could still meet its goal of supplying Ukraine with one million shells by this spring.
Last March, the EU set a 12-month deadline for donating ammunition to support Ukraine’s war against Russia. But Europe’s defense industry is struggling to prepare, and the goal is looking increasingly doubtful. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in November that it would be impossible to deliver the bullets on time.
But Breton hasn’t given up.
“What I want to say to you here today is that we stand by our promise,” Brereton said.
He said achieving this goal would require exports to non-EU countries to be reduced and member governments to put pressure on arms industries to increase production.
“We are only the European Commission,” he warned, but stressed it was “absolutely” possible to reach the one million Shell target by March or April.
Mr Breton also said the EU could reach parity with Russia in terms of weapons production within 18 months to two years, calling it “very important” that the EU “have comparable capabilities”.
Russia has dramatically increased its own ammunition production and is also receiving thousands of shells from its ally, North Korea. Access to large amounts of ammunition is crucial in the intense battles along hundreds of kilometers of trenches in eastern and southern Ukraine, and Ukraine may not be able to hold its line without further support from the West. There are concerns that
At a time of crisis for Ukraine and concerns about the credibility of promises made by allies, President Breton criticized officials for questioning the bloc’s munitions targets.
“I’m not happy to see some defense ministers saying we can’t provide it. This is not the kind of information you would give if there was a war on the continent,” he said.
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