Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.
Brussels has proposed shopping for weapons collectively on behalf of EU member states, in what could be a serious shift in decision-making energy in response to Donald Trump’s disruption of US international coverage.
“Upon request from Member States, the Fee may . . . act as a central buying physique [for weapons] on their behalf,” the fee wrote within the draft of a coverage paper on defence seen by the FT.
“Demand aggregation by collaborative procurement is probably the most cost-effective path to rebuild European defence,” mentioned the paper, which is ready to be revealed subsequent week.
“Collaborative procurement of defence merchandise has vital advantages for each Member States and defence trade,” the fee added.
European capitals have been compelled to rethink their complete defence and safety posture by Trump’s threats to finish US safety to European allies that don’t spend extra on defence, in addition to by his resolution to rekindle ties with Russia.
The fee stepped in in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic to collectively buy vaccines on behalf of EU member states, to convey down costs and guarantee provide amid fierce world competitors.
Some member states have privately pushed for Brussels to use that idea to defence, with calls for for “collective” safety investments comparable to air and missile defence.
The draft white paper, which may change earlier than it’s formally revealed forward of a EU summit on March 20, additionally accommodates extra particulars on financing choices unveiled by fee president Ursula von der Leyen final week.
These embrace €150bn in loans to capitals and a soothing of EU deficit guidelines for defence spending.
The doc seen by the FT doesn’t comprise a proposal for new collective debt by EU member states for defence, an concept pushed by many capitals however opposed by Germany and the Netherlands.
It is a creating story
Source link
#Brussels #proposes #collective #weapons #purchases #member #states
