Kubilius urges to ‘be ready for defense in all domains, put aside peacetime glasses’

Brussels – Europe’s peace project is over and can no longer exist. The times call to rethink everything that has been. Once again, the European Commission is burying the project at the heart of the Union. The Commissioner for Defense, the Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius, reiterates this once more: “So we need to put aside our peacetime glasses,” he tells the audience at the European Security and Defense Summit. “We must be ready for defense, in all the different domains: in industrial capacity, in readiness of public finances to pay for what is needed, and there should be no obstacles for cooperation between the EU and NATO,” he offers as a recipe.

There is the intention to work with companies, to which Kubilius assures that for the von der Leyen team, the imperative is “European spending” to invest more and more in “joint procurement.” The key to Europe’s immediate future, Kubilius insists, is all in the industrial capacity: “If we want Peace in Europe (Pax Europaea), we need to be ready to be independent,” which applies especially to the production side. “Pax Europaea (Peace in Europe) is our strategic responsibility. Pax Europaea is impossible without our independent defense readiness,” he says.

Difesa, via libera definitivo al fondo Safe. Von der Leyen: “Misure eccezionali per tempi eccezionali”

The Perfect Storm

The EU cannot afford to waste time. “We are facing a perfect storm,” the Defense Commissioner explains. “The war in Ukraine is continuing – without clear perspectives of peace” and looking to the future, “Russian aggressiveness is increasing. Even if peace is concluded in Ukraine, Putin will continue to mobilize Russia’s war economy. This time – against the EU.” Moreover, “the forthcoming American withdrawal from Europe is a new reality. This does not mean American withdrawal from NATO. Our readiness for defense is not sufficient.” According to Kubilius, “This perfect storm does not mean we cannot make bold decisions.” The first is a paradigm shift involving an EU geared for war.

The industrial strategy: drones, space, and military mobility

The European strategy already exists. In the White Paper, the European Commission charts the course. However, Kubilius urges industry to be ready, as he reminds business representatives in the sector that everything passes through the EU executive’s agenda: conventional weapons and then drones: “Today 80% of targets in Ukraine are destroyed by drones. Every two months, there is a need for radical innovation of the drones in operation.” Hence, the consideration: “What kind of war do we need to be ready to fight? Our actions in implementing the White Paper very much depend on an answer to this question.” In saying this, Kubilius implies that all the new attention is focused on this factor, and it is no coincidence that the European Investment Bank has been called upon to support dual-use civil-military technology, of which drones are an expression.

Copernicus per la difesa, UE e industria europea avviano il ragionamento

Then, there is also the issue of Space. “Today, defense readiness is impossible without space readiness,” Kubilius continues. “We must develop an industrial production capacity, including missiles and satellites.” In this regard, “we are working with the European Space Agency (ESA) on a new defense satellite navigation system. It is needed for intelligence data.” However, in this respect,  ‘we must strengthen our tracking capabilities.” We cannot turn away: “Space is a new frontier. Materially and politically, we need to be in Space.”

Finally, “we must invest in military mobility,” the Defense Commissioner emphasizes: “We can’t move tanks or artillery to defend the border if the bridges or roads are too weak to carry them, or tunnels too small.” For this, and all that is at stake, Kubilius turns to businesses, those that are involved and those that are not yet but potentially so: “So, those companies, which still are not engaged in defense and space business, should think about that.” It is a clear invitation to change the economy: the Europe of peace is being converted into the Europe of war.