Mitsikitisa article in Financial Times: “Europe should spend more on its defense”

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Supporting its point of view that Europe must take great responsibility for its security, the Greek Prime Minister offers “Creation of a new European tool, at least 100 billion euros, To finance collective defensive needs. ”

On the day of his participation in informal European council in Brussels, on which 27 countries EU discuss the issue of general European defense, the Prime Minister in his article for Financial Times Under the heading “Europe should spend more on its defense” claims: “If our union is going to remain a stronghold of peace and stability, we must have a strong, unified and reliable defense ability. There is no time. “

The Greek Prime Minister Kiriacos Mitsikitis also repeats that “Military expenses should be excluded from the budget rules of the EU”as well as that it is necessary to transform the European defense industry. Article of the Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsikitisis in Financial Times:

“Europe should spend more on its defense. Military expenses should be excluded from the budget rules of the EU.

The combination of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and wider global changes in the distribution of forces means that Europe should take great responsibility for its safety.

The European Commission evaluates that in the next decade it will be required Additional investments in size 500 billion euros In the defense sector. This is not just a necessity, but also an opportunity to ensure European strategic autonomy, for which I have been speaking for a long time. But this requires a collective effect in two directions. Firstly, we need a stable financing model for enlarged defense costs. Secondly, we must transform the European defense industry.

As for financing, the problem is that, within the framework of the new European budget plan, any significant increase in defense expenditures probably activates the so -called excessive deficiency procedures (δυε), which were developed so that the budgets of states are within certain limits. This is ineffective and potentially very expensive.

Nevertheless, there is a simple way to overcome this difficulty: defense expenses should be excluded in advance from budgetary goals. This will allow member states to spend more on defense, while maintaining budget reliability and favorable conditions in the markets.

By providing member states this budget space, we will increase our capabilities in defense and security. But this will not be enough, since at some point markets can add additional expenses to the profitability of our government bonds. In addition, this can be a restraining factor for defense expenses and lead to a disproportionate distribution of burden between EU member states.

The inclusion of security and defense in the list of strategic priorities of the European Investment Bank will be useful. However, this in itself will cover only a small part of our investment needs. For this reason, relying on positive experience with the mechanism of restoration and sustainability of the EU in relation to markets, I propose to create a new European instrument with a volume of at least 100 billion euros to finance our collective defensive needs.

Nevertheless, an increase in defense costs should be accompanied by an increase in efficiency. According to both recent reports of Drag and Lett, the European defense industry remains fragmented, it lacks the necessary scale, and further integration and specialization are required to create superiority centers.

The development of complex defense systems of a new generation requires investments exceeding the capabilities of any individual member state. That is why in the last May, together with the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tuski, I proposed an ambitious plan to create a European air defense shield as a reliable means of containing potential attacks.

The announcement and financing of such a large European initiative, which will be followed by other iconic projects, will have a direct impact on four areas.

• Firstly, this will allow member states and the EU as a whole to cope with critical shortcomings in their defense capabilities.
• Secondly, this will strengthen the technological and industrial base of Europe.
• Thirdly, this will significantly increase the contribution of Europe to NATO and strengthen transatlantic cooperation.
• And, perhaps, the most important thing, it will send an unambiguous message that Europe is one and decisive, as a global force that should be taken seriously.

The fact that the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Layen included the idea of ​​iconic projects of the European Defense Union in political leading principles for its second term is positive. The same applies to the upcoming white book about the future of European defense, as well as the Strategies of readiness. Both of these documents will contribute to the creation of conditions for the formation of a European defense union.

This matters, since one of the main prerequisites for the greater European strategic autonomy should be that the territorial integrity of each member state is inextricably linked with the integrity of all other member states and the entire EU as a whole. Therefore, we must strengthen the reliability and operational value of the regulations on mutual defense (42.7 of the SE) and solidarity (222) in the EU agreements.

As a member state of the first EU and NATO Front, and as a country faced with unique and direct security challenges, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece has long realized the critical importance of investment in defense. But these security calls are no longer regional. Geopolitical risks for Europe have never been so high. If our union is going to remain a stronghold of peace and stability, we must have a strong, unified and reliable defense ability. There is no time to lose time. ”

Where to get the money from Mitsik abouthotiyakis does not specify such costs. After all There is no extra money (and reserves) in the country's budgetMoreover, Greece in “debts, as in silk”, having a national debt significantly exceeding GDP. Probably money for defense will be removed from other funds. Already now the defense budget exceeds 6.1 billion euros (2024), which, taking into account the entire revenue of the budget in size 65–70 billion euros (2024 g) is a little less than 10%.

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