EU to boost defence industry in a bid to move away from US dependency

EU plans to boost defense industry in response to Russia's threat, aiming for strategic independence from U.S. in arms procurement.

The European Union on March 5 outlined ambitious plans to boost its defence industry as it responds to the threat posed by Russia’s war on Ukraine and seeks to wean member nations off an over-dependence on the U.S. defence industry.

The plans by the EU Commission centre on streamlining the procurement of arms by the 27 EU states and to produce them within the bloc in a multi-billion-dollar pivot away from the United States.

In the first 16 months since the February 2022 start of the Ukraine war, “member states spent more than €100 billion on defence acquisitions,” said EU Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager. “Almost 80% of that was spent outside of the European Union and the U.S. alone accounted for more than 60% of this spending.”

"This is no longer sustainable — if it ever was,” Ms. Vestager said.

The need for some strategic independence from the EU’s pre-eminent ally in NATO underscores a sense of political estrangement from Washington, which has been reinforced by the strong showing of former President Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential campaign and his barbed comments on the level of European defence spending.

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For decades, EU nations have slumbered under the protective nuclear cover of the United States through the NATO alliance while their defense spending and crisis preparedness withered.