European defense needs a \u201cbig bang,\u201d the EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said on Thursday, arguing that incremental steps are no longer sufficient to rearm Europe.
\n\u201cEU defense needs a \u201cbig bang\u201d\u2019 because we can no longer achieve what we need through this step-by-step improvement of the situation,\u201d he said during a debate about the EU White Paper on the future of European defense at the Lithuanian parliament, public broadcaster LRT reported.
\nEmphasizing that the union should follow the mantra that if one wants peace, one must prepare for war, he drew attention that Russia switched to a war economy.
\n\u201cRussia produces more weapons in three months than all NATO countries, including the US, produce in a year,\u201d Kubilius said, adding that Russia will spend even more on war this year.
\nIn purchasing power parity terms, it will spend more than all EU countries combined will spend on defense, he said.
\nOn relations with the US that have experienced major tension since Donald Trump took office in January, Kubilius underscored that Europe should take Washington\u2019s changing priorities into account.
\n\u201cWe are all well aware that the US will be increasingly focused on China\u2019s rising power, and will have to devote more and more of its security resources to it. Naturally, we have to plan for an evolutionary decline in America\u2019s involvement in our security for such reasons,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThis is why we need to shift the responsibility for our defense onto our own shoulders,\u201d Kubilius said, noting that the white paper is an integral part of the union\u2019s efforts to improve its defense capabilities.
\nHowever, he stressed that the EU\u2019s plans to strengthen its military capabilities are in no way in competition with NATO plans.
\nPublished by the European Commission last week, the document offers solutions to address critical capability gaps and build a strong industrial base for defense, suggests ways for member states to invest more in defense, procure defense systems and increase the readiness of Europe\u2019s defense industry in the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
European defense needs a \u201cbig bang,\u201d the EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said on Thursday, arguing that incremental steps are no longer sufficient to rearm Europe. \u201cEU defense needs a \u201cbig bang\u201d\u2019 because we can no longer achieve what we need through this step-by-step improvement of the situation,\u201d he said during a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-469611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n