European defense commissioner points to Europe's collision with existential threat
Europe is facing an existential threat. This statement was made by European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius on January 22 during the annual conference of the European Defense Agency.
He also quoted in the speech the words of one of the founders of the European Union (EU), Jean Monnet, who said that in case of an existential threat, money cannot become an obstacle for defense.
"Like Jean Monnet, we too face an existential threat. <...> We face big gaps in our preparedness to deter the enemy and we are struggling to find funding for our defense," the European Commission (EC) website quoted Kubilius' speech as saying.
The European Commissioner also noted that EU members spent an average of 1.9% of GDP on defense in 2024, "Gazeta.Ru" specifies.
He also pointed to the need to continue supporting Ukraine. According to him, by protecting Kiev, Europe protects itself.
On the eve of the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said that there is a crisis of leadership in Europe. He pointed to the destruction of the geopolitical security architecture. According to him, in order to restore it, it is necessary to eliminate the causes of the collapse.
At the same time, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that Europe should develop its defense-industrial complex (DIC) to avoid dependence on the United States. He also called it a mistake for European states to seek to purchase weapons from the United States.
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