Speech by Commissioner Kubilius at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament “Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment”

Madam Chair, 

Honourable Members, ​

First, I thank this House for your unwavering support for a stronger European Defence.

Opinion polls clearly show: In these dangerous times our people expect Europe to be strong in the world. And strong in defence. So I thank you for listening to the voice of the people. And leading the people. 

After nearly four years Russia shows no sign of ending its brutal war. And our American allies strategic priorities are now in the Indo-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere.

They said that very clearly in the National Defence Strategy published two weeks ago. And that they expect us, to take responsibility for our conventional defence.

European responsibility does not mean: without NATO. NATO is the foundation of our collective defence in Europe. And essential for our transatlantic ties and our voice in the world. 

European responsibility means: making NATO stronger by strengthening our European posture inside NATO. It means taking care of our own defence needs. Led by the Member States. Supported by the European Union. For example: We now depend on America for strategic enablers. Like space intelligence data or air-to-air refuelling. 

We need to be ready to replace American strategic enablers with our own European ones.  This should be our strategic priority. And we need to be ready to replace other conventional defence resources, placed by our transatlantic partners on the European continent.

This is the first step towards our independence.

European responsibility for defence also demands an institutional framework for our cooperation. A European Defence Union.

You ask: how do we build a stronger European defence in this current international environment? 

And my answer is very simple: Ramp up defence production. Ramp up with greater urgency, Ramp up, with greater energy than ever before. 

Our defence industry must now rise to this historic challenge. And scale up their production lines. And produce, produce, produce. 

But it sometimes seems, as if our industry is not yet ready to face the coming demand shock.

So I strongly support the call by President Macron to industry: please deliver, please ramp up your production potential and capacity. Because that is the goal of our defence readiness: more production power, more innovation, stronger deterrence. And the biggest dividend is peace. 

And I call on all defence ministers: inform us, if you experience delays in delivery. We need to understand what causes delays and how to tackle them. So industry can count on our full support. 

And we support industry very concretely. 

Last week I held the first meeting of the Security of Supply Board. Which will monitor supply chains so industry can deliver at scale and speed. 

And soon I will go on a “missile tour”. To engage with Member States and industry how to best accelerate missile delivery to Ukraine. And to our own stockpiles.

This is “EU added value in practice”.

Last year we prepared the ground for defence ramp up with new defence policies. And a massive defence financial “big bang”: 150 billion in SAFE loans. We have now endorsed 16 out of 19 national investment plans.  And sent them to the Council for approval. 

Member States will spend 6.8 trillion euros on defence by 2035 if they fulfil their NATO pledges. And now on the table: a 60 billion euro loan for Ukraines defence. 

The Commission is in full preparation mode. 

So I call on you: give your green light for the Ukraine Loan, so we can start implementation. 

The Loan is built on a cascading principle to buy first from Ukraine, the EU and our EEA and EFTA partners. And only after that from abroad. 

So if industry can not deliver, Ukraine can go to world markets. And Ukraine needs those weapons now!

Defence ramp up will not only benefit our defence, but also our competitiveness. 

I know you have a big debate on competitiveness tomorrow. Mario Draghi said: marginal reforms will not restore competitiveness. Only massive coordinated investment, supported by EU instruments. Up to 800 billion euro in additional investment per year is needed. 

Thats exactly where we can bring strategic added value for our competitiveness with our defence spending, which during the next 10 years can on average reach almost 700 billion euro annually. 

A massive boost for our competitiveness. But only if it is spent properly. 

Mario Draghi also clearly warns: Spend it in a fragmented way, spend it outside Europe, and that would undermine our competitiveness. And it would also harm our defence. 

Europe faces a decisive choice in defence. Act divided: and damage our competitiveness. Or act united: and make defence spending the engine of our economy. 

So we are saying to Member States: Coordinate! Set priorities – not only national, but  alsoEuropean.  Fully in line with NATO. Use new possibilities in EDIP, the Defence Industrial Programme, to create European Defence Projects of Common interest, our defence flagship projects. That no Member State can build alone, but that protectthe entire Union. For example, the Eastern Flank Watch, flagships on drones, air defence, missiles and space.

Honourable Members, 

As Jean Monnet predicted: the European Community will be born out of crisis.  The current security crisis is also making us stronger. 

The European Union is historically an economic giant.  

When it comes to defence, the European Union is also a giant.  But a sleeping giant. In this world of giants we too must be giants. True to our values and strong. 

Dear friends, 

Let us together, wake the sleeping giant of Europe.