BRUSSELS
The European Union must develop its own strategic defense capabilities to reduce its reliance on the United States, the European commissioner for defense said Tuesday.
"We now depend on America for strategic enablers, like space intelligence data or air-to-air refueling. We need to be ready to replace American strategic enablers with our own European ones. This should be our strategic priority," Andrius Kubilius said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
He emphasized that European independence in defense does not mean acting outside NATO, underlining that strengthening Europe's capabilities within NATO would both enhance the continent’s security and ensure the EU can meet the expectations of its transatlantic partners.
"European responsibility means: making NATO stronger by strengthening our European posture inside NATO. It means taking care of our own defense needs," he said.
Kubilius also stressed the importance of industrial readiness, calling on the defense sector to scale up production and innovation.
"Ramp up defense production. Ramp up with greater urgency. Ramp up, with greater energy than ever before. Our defense industry must now rise to this historic challenge. And scale up their production lines," he stressed.
He noted that the EU had taken steps to support this effort, including the creation of the Security of Supply Board to monitor supply chains and a €150 billion ($178 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defense loan initiative to finance national defense investment plans.
Kubilius called for the European Parliament to approve a €60 billion ($71 billion) loan to support Ukraine's defense, highlighting that it would prioritize procurement from Ukraine, the EU, and its partners before going to global markets.