Ursula von der Leyen says €150bn EU defence loans should be spent in Europe
Ursula von der Leyen says €150bn EU defence loans should be spent in Europe
Funds to be used on weapons from EU and like-minded European nations such as UK, Norway and Switzerland
Archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/zRSLH
EU member states will not be able to spend €150bn of new funding for defence on US weapons, as Brussels seeks to rapidly increase the continent’s security while also developing its domestic arms industry.
The European Commission has proposed borrowing the €150bn worth of loans against the EU budget for member states to spend on weapons, as part of a push by European capitals to rapidly increase their defence capabilities in response to Donald Trump’s return as US president.
“These loans should finance purchases from European producers, to help boost our own defence industry,” commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European parliament on Tuesday.
That means the cash would only be spent on weapons from EU nations and other like-minded European countries such as the UK, Norway and Switzerland, said officials briefed on her thinking.
US military hardware is top notch. But the US has shown itself to be an unreliable ally. So spending that money at home, supporting the local economy where the money will ultimately flow back to the governments via taxes. Also there is almost nothing the US makes that we don't or can't make here with a few exceptions like the F-22 or X-37 (AKA the satellite snatcher).
Kind of weird to include Switzerland after the shit they pulled with preventing other countries from giving their ammo to Ukraine.
Agreed, but on the other hand, maybe this could push them to be better involved in the collective defense of Europe, not just for new arms but older ones as well. The more countries that contribute to Europe's collective defense, the better.
@misk
This law was introduced after a public vote, independent of the war in Ukraine. We were tired of our weapons ending up in the really shady corners of the world, including militant groups that may kill thousands of innocent and unarmed people.Selling arms to anyone goes against our neutrality, at least what's left of it.
Even if we have an obvious aggressor attacking Ukraine, we can't start making exceptions, because how can we remain neutral if we start selling arms to one side only?
I think they're just trying to keep the money in Europe while utilizing all available sources. Not sure the current demand could be dealt with without Switzerland.
Only a short-sighted fool would trust US tech and defence hardware ever again at this point.
This seemed like a no-brainer to me. But I get that it has to be said.
Wait, does that mean he remaining $750B can go to the US? If so this is not the investment package I thought it was.
€600B is supposed to come from increased spending by member states, €150B are loans from EU. I don’t think European Commission should have added them together since I don’t see anything preventing loans from financing increased spending.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_25_673
Does she mean it or is she trying to bargain with Trump?