The European Union has issued a white paper on defense plans to invest 100 billion euros to strengthen its own defense forces

Brussels (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday (March 19) released a white paper on Defense Forces 2030, hoping to make Europe have a strong defense capability by 2030 by increasing investment in the defense industry, encouraging joint procurement and increasing military production capacity.

Eu Foreign Policy chief Sergei Kallas stressed that "regardless of the progress of peace talks in Ukraine, this is a long-term investment in a long-term plan of aggression." This is because the international order is undergoing a sea change not seen since 1945, and European security is at a critical moment. The Russian economy is in total war mode, with as much as 40 percent of the budget spent on the military.

Reduce dependence on arms producers outside the EU

Some of the proposed measures in the White paper are aimed at boosting the EU's arms industry, meaning it would be less dependent on major arms producers outside the EU such as the US, the UK and Turkey.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, EU countries have begun to strengthen their own defense capabilities, increasing defense spending by more than 30 percent between 2021 and 2024. With US President Donald Trump's rapprochement with Russia and US warnings that European security is no longer Washington's primary concern, the EU must find ways to build up its defense forces more quickly.

The European Union's 450 million citizens should not rely on 340 million Americans to protect Europe from 140 million Russians who could not even defeat 38 million Ukrainians, Defense Commissioner Jan Kubilius said. "We can do better," he said. It is time for us to take responsibility for the defence of Europe."

In its white paper, the Commission calls for Europe to improve a number of important defence capabilities, including air and missile defence, artillery, ammunition and missiles, drones, military transport, artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and infrastructure protection. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the White paper: "The time of the peace dividend is long gone. The security architecture we rely on can no longer be taken for granted. Europe is ready to step up."

Simplifying and harmonizing rules to integrate the European defense industry

The White paper says the Commission will work towards a truly EU-wide market for defence equipment, with simplified and harmonised rules. The idea is to consolidate Europe's defence industry. Many arms manufacturers currently produce different weapons systems for different governments. According to an analysis by McKinsey, the management consultancy, Europe has 19 types of main battle tanks, compared with just one in the US, and Europe has 17 types of torpedoes, compared with just two in the US.

The Commission is already planning to find €150 billion for EU governments to spend on defence projects and to relax EU public finance rules to mobilise an additional €650 billion.

Many EU member states are in favor of boosting the EU's military, but how to do it is likely to be hotly debated, including how joint projects should be managed, funded and who has the power to make decisions. The Commission has proposed acting as a "central procurement agency" on behalf of EU member states, but some EU countries have already objected, wanting to keep those decisions in the hands of national governments. In addition to these differences, the white paper's proposed measures are subject to approval by EU governments and, in some cases, the European Parliament before they become law.

Separately, Ms. Kallas said Wednesday that she would propose to European leaders on Thursday that Ukraine be supplied with 2 million rounds of large-caliber artillery ammunition worth 5 billion euros.

The European Union's foreign service circulated a paper to member states last week discussing how the bloc should be prepared to double its military aid to Ukraine this year to 40 billion euros. Callas' proposal is part of the military aid plan. But several countries have indicated they are not ready to support the plan.