Under the new defence strategy, European Union (EU) member states plan to create a 5,000-strong military emergency response force over the next three years and become less dependent on the United States for defence. The EU has pledged to increase its military spending so it can implement interventions alone by 2025.
“The EU is in danger. Russia’s attack on Ukraine is not only rhetoric, it is also a warning.”
The foreign and defence ministers of European Union countries have approved a strategic ballot drawn up two years ago that is adapted to the situation created by the war against Ukraine.
Borrell stressed that this is a call to action and that this document should not remain on paper, adding that “the European Union must prove that it is committed and fast in responding to crises and invest in its defence capabilities by integrating with NATO”.
It warned that “the European Union is not a community equipped to deal with the current threats and challenges.”
The EU will use combat groups established in 2007 to form this response force of 5,000 troops.
The EU Foreign Ministry said “combat groups are ready for action, but they have never been used due to a lack of political will and financial means.”
The military force will consist of land, air and sea forces and will be equipped with transport capabilities to intervene to rescue and evacuate European citizens caught in the middle of the conflict.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht says her country wants to be the heart of that power by 2025.
Minister Lambrecht will discuss EU military commitments with US President Joe Biden at an extraordinary NATO summit on Thursday. After that, a meeting of the heads of state and government of EU member states will be held to discuss the consequences of the war in Ukraine on security in Europe.
The United States has re-deployed more than 100,000 troops in Europe to contribute to strengthening defences on NATO’s eastern borders.
Sharing the cost of these elements, deployed in the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, will be on the agenda.
The EU devotes $200 billion a year, or 1.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), to defence. This amount is about 4 times russia’s defense budget, Borrell said, adding that “it is bigger than China’s budget, but it is not enough”.
Although eu commitments do not include a quantitative target, all NATO countries, 21 of which are EU members, have pledged to devote 2 percent of their GDP to military spending in 2024. Germany, Belgium and Denmark, which fell far behind this commitment, said they had increased their budgets.
“The EU plans to make an additional and unifying effort in NATO,” Borrell said.
Europeans want to invest in capabilities they do not currently have, including drones, combat systems, tanks, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems.
The document prepared by Borrell stressed that “the detailed measures planned to be taken are ambitious, but these measures can be taken with stability in political stability”.
“We will see if we can achieve what we promised,” Borrell said in response to a question from French News Agency AFP.
