The US doubts the EUʼs strategy to buy mainly European weapons
- Author:
- Liza Brovko
- Date:
Washington is "concerned" by the strategy of the European Union, which determines the priority purchase of European weapons. The US believes that this is not the cheapest or fastest way to deliver weapons to Ukraine and other states that need them.
US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith, who is already completing her work in this position, said this to Politico.
Amid the possible return of Donald Trump to the post of US president, France has become a leader in efforts to make the EU more self-sufficient militarily. The EUʼs defense industrial strategy stipulates that the blocʼs 27 countries, 23 of which are NATO members, aim to spend half of their procurement budget on European weapons by 2030, and 60% of that budget by 2035.
Critics of such French efforts say that Paris is simply protecting its own arms industry, even though it cannot match the volume and speed of deliveries of other supplier countries such as the United States and South Korea.
"I appreciate their medium-term and long-term perspective, but Iʼm not sure that limiting EU purchases will really help, particularly our friends in Ukraine," Julianne Smith emphasized.
Separately, Julianna Smith said that currently NATO is not ready to invite Ukraine. The USA is not ready for this either. At the same time, the key point of the Ukrainian victory plan is precisely that Kyiv will receive an invitation to NATO.
- France, with its nuclear arsenal, has consistently put pressure on its European allies that Europe should be more independent in matters of defense. At the same time, Germany believes that there is no reliable alternative to broad military cooperation with the USA, since Europe does not have enough time to wait for the defense industry of each European country to be ready for such threats as Russian aggression.
- In the summer of 2024, France, Germany, Italy and Poland agreed to develop long-range missiles that can hit 500 kilometers.
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