“Peace in our Union can no longer be taken for granted. We are facing a European security crisis. But we know that Europe has always been built in times of crisis. So, this is the time for peace through strength. It is time for a common defense. More courage will be needed in the coming weeks and months. The toughest choices lie ahead. The time for illusions is over.” This was declared by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while speaking in the plenary session of the European Parliament for RearmEU.
According to her, there is a new awareness to think differently and act according to the circumstances.
“In the European Council, I saw a level of consensus on European defense that is not only unprecedented but was completely unimaginable just a few weeks ago. There is a new awareness that we must think differently and act according to the circumstances,” noted Von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen emphasized that the European security order has been shaken and highlighted the need for a common defense “as a barrier” against those who threaten a united Europe.
“After the end of the Cold War, some believed that Russia could be integrated into Europe’s economic and security architecture. Others hoped to rely on America’s full defense for an indefinite period. And so, we lowered our vigilance. We reduced defense spending from an average of more than 3% to less than half. We want to pull every financial lever we have to strengthen and accelerate our defense production. With the Rearm Europe plan, we can mobilize up to 800 billion euros,” the President of the European Commission reiterated, before diving into several points of RearmEU.
“Firstly, the national defense clause. Let me start with the reason why it is essential to mobilize national budgets. Today, we spend just under 2% of our GDP on defense. All analyses agree that we need to mobilize more than 3%. The entire European budget reaches only 1% of our GDP. Therefore, it is clear that most of the new investments have been created solely by the national defense instrument that we can use. And we propose to activate it in a controlled, limited, and coordinated manner for all member states, which could quickly and effectively transform our defense budgets to 650 billion euros over the next four years, adding 1.5% of GDP to their defense budgets.”
“Secondly, the European Council has approved our proposal for a new financial instrument. We have called it ‘Secure.’ Action for Europe’s Security. We offer member states up to 150 billion euros in loans—to invest while following several basic principles. They can focus on specific strategic capabilities, from air defense to drones, from strategic tools to cybersecurity, to name a few, to regain the impact of our investments from producers beyond our defense industry,” she emphasized.
“It is time to build a European Union of Defense that guarantees peace on our continent through unity and strength,” she concluded.
