No more time to waste to build a credible European defence
Renew Europe welcomes the adoption of the report on European Defence Readiness 2030. The European Union needs to transform itself into a credible security provider: with war on Europe's doorstep and defence spending still too low, the message is clear: Europe must act now or risk being unable to protect its citizens.
Currently, most EU countries aren't investing enough in defence, despite previous commitments. The report calls for each nation to spend at least 3% of their economy on defence by 2030, with clear plans showing what military equipment they'll buy and how much they'll stockpile.
Money remains a major challenge. While welcoming new EU defence loans, Renew Europe calls for alternative financing mechanisms, greater private investment and removing financial-market barriers that currently block defence industry investment.
MEP Lucia Yar (Progressive Slovakia, Slovakia), Renew shadow rapporteur for the SEDE committee and EP rapporteur for the BUDG committee, stated:
“Russia’s threat to Europe is real. We all see it and we all feel it. And we cannot afford to keep financing barriers in place while asking European defence industry to scale up faster. This report is a clear call to close our capability gaps with credible EU financing: the next MFF must firmly match identified shortfalls with real tools, including new own resources; the EIB should be able to support a wider range of defence-relevant investments; and SMEs and mid-caps need dedicated instruments to innovate and scale. We also need to keep supporting Ukraine, including by unlocking the value of Russia’s frozen assets. I’m glad this text won broad support in Parliament today and will guide us through tough decisions ahead of us.”
Lucia YarRenew Europe MEP, Slovakia, Progresívne Slovensko
Furthermore, Renew Europe insists on the urgency to pay attention to Europe's eastern border that requires concrete measures through major initiatives like the European air shield, drone defence initiative, Eastern flank watch, and space shield - essential tools to deter threats and protect European territory.