Brussels should encourage the European defense industry to increase production and promote consolidation, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, warning that "the world has become tougher," UNN reports.
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Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission is developing its strategy for the defense industry based on the experience of using taxpayer money to stimulate the production of COVID-19 vaccines and for joint gas purchases.
"We have a very fragmented defense market, and this needs to change. What is the competence of the Commission? This is the industry. This is our core business. We facilitate, not buy," said von der Leyen.
The proposals in the European Commission's plan include using the EU budget to increase funding in addition to joint arms contracts signed by member states, as well as guarantees that the products will be purchased, EU officials told the FT.
As noted, a plan to strengthen Europe's military-industrial complex in the face of growing threats from Russia is due to be unveiled this month; it will need to be approved by the governments of the bloc, and, as the publication notes, some of them "may resist the Commission's efforts to centralize decisions on defense investment.