Von der Leyen to prepare EU for war – defense commission nominee
A top priority for the next European Commission will be making the EU self-reliant and ready for war, as the US is likely to focus on China in the coming decades, Andrius Kubilius, the nominee for the EU’s new top defense post, has said.
Kubilius made the statement at his confirmation hearing in Brussels on Wednesday, after he was nominated to become the first-ever EU commissioner for defense and space. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen designated the former Lithuanian prime minister for the position in September. The new commission is expected to take office by December 1.
“Defense is one of the top priorities for the next Commission,” Kubilius told MEPs. “Von der Leyen’s mission letter tasks me with helping Europe prepare for the most extreme military contingencies, which means preparing for the possibility of Russian aggression.”
While it is difficult to predict the policies of the upcoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, “we can anticipate that in the coming decades, the US is likely to increase its focus on the strategic challenge posed by China,” he said. This shift “necessitates a more self-reliant European defense structure,” he added.
“Adversaries and strategic rivals are rapidly outpacing us,” with Russia and China far ahead in defense spending, Kubilius went on to say. He claimed that Russia will spend more on defense than all of the bloc’s 27 states combined in terms of purchasing power parity.
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