The EU leaders have confirmed that they intend to establish a defence component of the EU is not separate from NATO, and in close coordination with the Alliance and with the United States.
“Transatlantic relations and the cooperation between the EU and NATO remain key to our common security, and this will allow us to respond to emerging security threats, including cyber threats, hybrid threats and terrorism”, – is emphasized in the adopted on Thursday the resolution of the European Council.
The European Council welcomed the establishment of the Helsinki European centre of excellence to combat hybrid threats.
European leaders endorsed the report of the European Commission on the formation of the European defense Fund, consisting of research managers and industrial executives, and expect an early start to his work.
They acknowledged the lag of Europe in the development of the military-industrial complex and the need for the development of future technologies.
The European Council invited the member States of the EU to continue to work on options for joint procurement of military equipment in the framework of the European defense Fund “on the basis of reliable funding mechanisms.”
The aim was to create a “competitive, innovative and balanced framework for the European defence industry within the EU, including through cross-border cooperation”.
The President of France Emmanuel macron has called ambitious and historic adopted on Thursday the EU summit conclusions on the issues of European defence.
“And we owe it to the President of the European Commission. I want to commend him for that honor (…). I believe that the President of the European Commission with great courage, introduced June 7, powerful on defense,” – said E. Makron at the briefing after the first meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
This proposal, he said, “was completely supported by France and Germany in comments that we could make to the draft conclusions in the previous weeks,” it helped “to adopt the text, which is a real breakthrough in the field of defense.”
First of all, according to him, this allows to increase the total expenditure for common operations, making them more effective.
After listing other improvements identified in the adopted resolution, Emmanuel macron noted that in the framework of Franco-German cooperation decided to go even further, and this will be discussed at the meeting of the Franco-German Council of Ministers on July 13.
The most important thing that these conclusions legitimize the creation of a European defense Fund. “The European Commission proposals for European defense Fund, indeed, have an unprecedented scale both from the point of view of stipulated amounts, and perimeter of action of the European Union budget for defence,” said the French President.
“From my point of view, we are talking about a real breakthrough,” said Emmanuel macron, noting that the plans will move forward to accelerate the improvement of the equipment of European armies and strengthen the European defense industry.
In response to skeptical remarks of the journalist questioned the appropriateness of raving reviews of the defense prospects of the EU, macron said that compared to Europe, which “stood still, retreated and stammered,” this breakthrough.
“Years and years there was no promotion on the part of the defense. And today it is,” – said the President of France.
This, he added, does not replace national efforts, EU countries, e.g. France, but this is progress, a positive step that allows you to show a “reasonable optimism”.
