[Carte Blanche] “If we want peace, we must prepare for war” (Charles Michel)

(B2) This February 24, 2022 (...) is a moment in history that each of the EU leaders will remember forever. The decisions taken at this meeting of the European Council marked the birth of the geopolitical EU. A view from the President of the European Council.

“The Kremlin's erroneous calculation of an easy three-day war against Ukraine, underestimating the collective unity of the EU and Ukraine's determination to defend its territory, shows the illusion that is at the very heart of its leaders. The Kremlin does not care about the well-being of its people, the prosperity of its country or peace in the region. Ukraine and its population, for their part, resisted, recaptured the seized territory, kept the Russian navy away from the Black Sea, and inflicted heavy losses on Russian forces.

“Two years after the start of the war, it is now clear that Russia will not stop in Ukraine, just as it did not stop in Crimea ten years ago. Russia continues its destabilization tactics - in Moldova, Georgia, the South Caucasus, the Western Balkans and even further afield, on the African continent.

“Russia poses a serious military threat to our European continent and to global security. If we do not respond appropriately at EU level and provide enough aid to Ukraine to stop Russia, we will be next.

“We must therefore be well prepared in terms of defense and switch to “war economy” mode. It's time to take responsibility for our own safety. We can no longer rely on others or be at the mercy of election cycles in the United States or elsewhere.

“We need to strengthen our capacity, both for Ukraine and for Europe, to defend the democratic world. A stronger Europe will also help strengthen the NATO alliance and improve our collective defense.

“While we can be proud of what we have already accomplished, there is much more we can and must do.

“Two days after the start of the war, President (Volodomyr) Zelensky pleaded by telephone for the EU to send weapons. Together with High Representative (Josep) Borrell, we worked with EU leaders to deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine. It was a first in the history of our Union. Already that weekend, the first weapons arrived in Ukraine.

“The commitment shown by Europe to Ukraine and its people has since then been unwavering, European Council after European Council. We have also intensified our action on the military front. The European defense industry has increased its production capacity by 50% since the start of the war, and we will double European munitions production to more than 2 million rounds per year by the end of the war. next year.

“At the same time, on both sides of our continent, Kremlin propaganda in Europe is trying to convince our citizens that the war in Ukraine does not concern us, that it is straining our budgets and dividing us. These are blatant lies. We must redouble our efforts to help Ukraine and to strengthen our European defense. We must be able to speak not only the language of diplomacy, but also that of power.

“Russia would spend 6% of its GDP on defense this year, while the EU still spends on average less than the NATO target of 2% of GDP.

“For decades, Europe has not invested enough in our security and defense. Today, we face the greatest security challenge since World War II, requiring us to strengthen our defense preparedness. This will require us to make a radical and irreversible shift in our thinking, towards a strategic security mindset.

“We need to prioritize Ukraine and also spend more, smarter and less fragmented.

Support for Ukraine

“While strengthening our defense capabilities, we must ensure that Ukraine gets what it needs on the battlefield. Ukrainian soldiers urgently need bullets, missiles and air defense systems to control the skies.

“We must use the European budget to buy military equipment for Ukraine – let's use windfall profits from tied up Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine.

Buy more together

“By 2030, we should aim to double our purchases from European industry. This will provide increased predictability for our businesses. The multi-year contracts will also encourage them to increase their production capacities. This will strengthen our defense industry, improve defense preparedness and create jobs and growth across the EU.

Facilitate access to financing

“Investments in defense are certainly costly, but without them we cannot increase our production in this sector. We must facilitate the industry's access to both public and private funding. Issuing European defense bonds to raise funds to purchase equipment or invest in our industry could also be a powerful way to strengthen our technological, industrial and innovation base.

“Furthermore, we must consider expanding the mandate of the European Investment Bank and adapting lending policy to enable us to do more to support our European defense industry, i.e. by modifying the definition of dual-use goods.

“EU leaders meet again in Brussels two years after this watershed European Council meeting. At this crucial moment in world history, Europe must be ready in the field of defense and meet the urgency of the threat. This fight requires strong leadership — to rally our citizens, our businesses and our governments to this new spirit of security and defense on our European continent.

“If we want peace, we must prepare for war. »

(Charles Michel, President of the European Council)

Tribune published in several European newspapers before the European Council of March 21-22, 2024