Europe wants to refuse US weapons by taking its industry

According to journalists, Europe wants to establish its own weapons production. This will be beneficial for the security of Ukraine and the EU as a whole.

The United States is sending a clear signal to European leaders that they need to increase defense spending. At the same time, Washington wants Europe to buy more American weapons, but some allies want to increase production at home. This is reported by Politico.

As French President Emmanuel Macron said at the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava, it is necessary to develop a truly European military-technological and industrial base in all interested countries.

It is reported that after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European defense spending on weapons increased by almost 13% to $345 billion. Most of the spending was a reaction to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The article says that about half of the money spent on defense in European countries goes to American weapons. This situation is favorable for the United States, but some European politicians want to change it.

According to the journalists, the current tension in Brussels is related to whether the new common European defense policy should be limited to EU companies. Macron and Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for the Internal Market, are defending this position.

"Our plan is to directly support, with EU money, efforts to build up our defense industry," Breton said.

In his opinion, this will be beneficial both for Ukraine and for the common security of Europe. However, European countries are still highly dependent on the United States.

The most common expensive item is reportedly Lockheed Martin's F-35 strike fighter, which costs $80 million a piece.

The publication writes that the war in Ukraine has emphasized the dominance of the US defense industry. For example, Poland this year signed a $1.4 billion deal to buy 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks, as well as another $10 billion deal to buy Lockheed Martin's highly mobile artillery missile systems.

According to journalists, such deals have raised concerns in Europe about whether the EU will be able to abandon US defense products. However, the need to replenish weapons stockpiles and continue to deliver equipment to Ukraine is urgent, and after decades of decline, the continent's defense industry is having a hard time adapting.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 16/06/2023