Increased military spending by the EU and reduced reliance on the US

Instead of depending on imports from the US, European Union authorities want member states to dramatically enhance the bloc’s arms manufacturing. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has stated that Europe would need to spend roughly 110 billion dollars ($100 billion) in order to compete with US defense manufacturers. “We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode,” he stated. “This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support.” First set aside from the current EU budget, Breton’s plan calls for 1.5 billion euros from the budget, a sum that European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager described as “not a lot of money”.

Vestager, however, said that it was a step toward a future in which the bloc might “take more responsibility” for its collective security, which could be impacted by the results of November’s US presidential voting. She remarked, “We need to get that trans-Atlantic balance right, irrespective of electoral dynamics in the US,” a reference to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s remarks that, should he win reelection, the US might not be as committed to its NATO partners. This was published by Agence France-Presse. Breton stated, “In the current geopolitical context, Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security, regardless of the outcome of our allies’ elections every four years.”

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission and a former German defense minister before entering European politics, has previously stated that it would be “reasonable” to have a dedicated European defense commissioner in the future and that, should she be reelected in the summer, she would introduce one. The remarks were made a few weeks after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that “the painful reality is that we do not live in times of peace” during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new munitions factory in the Saxony area. “We must move from manufacturing to mass production of armaments… those who want peace must be able to successfully deter aggressors,” Scholz stated.