Europe lacks 'critical defense capabilities': EU's foreign policy chief

ISTANBUL

Europe lacks "critical defense capabilities," the EU's foreign policy chief said on Thursday.

Speaking at the annual European Defense Agency (EDA) conference in Brussels, Josep Borrell said that Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own security, and look not just to the war in Ukraine but face up to future threats.

“After the Cold War, we shrunk our forces to small-size armies without coordination … We lack critical defense capabilities," Borrell, who is also the EDA head, said at a conference where the EU member states' defense expenditure was revealed. "We have to compensate years of underspending," he said.

The total defense expenditure of the 26 EU member states, excluding Denmark, rose to €214 billion ($225 billion), according to the EDA.

Although the EU's defense expenditure grew 6% in 2021 compared to 2020, which was the strongest yearly growth since the rebound started in 2015, the finding revealed that collaborative European defense spending remains below the benchmarks.

"Total defense expenditure that member states have announced will grow by another €70 billion in the next three years," Borrell said.

"But people don't fight with banknotes. There's a lot of work to be done. This is going to be a challenge to spend this money in a coordinated manner. If our national decisions are only focusing on present needs ... it will be again a fragmented European capability landscape."

He underlined the need to find the "right balance" between responding to present needs and preparing for future threats.

Borrell called on member states to cooperate more to equip each other with the defense capacities the EU needs.