The EU’s top diplomat has said that EU members do not spend enough on defence.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallis said Russia is an existential threat to EU security and the only way to deal with it is to increase defense spending.
While warning of a possible attack by Russia in the coming years, Callas added that the EU had long offered an alternative to Russia.
Callas’ protest cry was the latest in an increasingly dire warning from European officials, who have been calling for a “wake-up call” on defense since Moscow’s tanks entered Ukraine in 2022.
“Many of our national intelligence agencies are giving us information that Russia will test the EU’s readiness to defend itself in three to five years,” he said at the European Defense Agency’s annual conference in Brussels on Wednesday. can.”
“Russia is an existential threat to Europe’s security today, tomorrow and as long as we underinvest in our defense,” he added.
Callas also acknowledged that United States President Donald Trump was right to say that EU members do not spend enough on defense.
Earlier this month, Trump said NATO members should spend 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense — an increase from the current 2 percent target and the level that any NATO country, including the United States, spends on defense. Can’t reach at this time.
“The EU’s message to the US is clear. We must do more to defend ourselves and take a fair share of responsibility for Europe’s security,” Callas said.
EU countries have increased their military budgets since Russia’s war in Ukraine began. But politicians admit they will have to go further as they struggle to meet Moscow’s vast military output.
Last month, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Europe must “turbocharge” defense spending and production if it is to prevent Russia from starting a major war in the future.
“Time is not on Russia’s side. But it is not necessarily on our side either. Because we are not doing enough yet. There should be no doubt in our minds that we must spend more to prevent war. But we must There is a need to be prepared for war as well,” Kalis said.
