Germany urges EU states to step up defense capabilities

BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday called on EU countries to strengthen their defense capabilities.

"All EU member states must do more for defense. This is one of the central tasks at the national and European level for the coming years and decades," Scholz told a joint press briefing with European Council President Antonio Costa in Berlin.

Scholz referred to the upcoming EU summit in Brussels, where concrete measures to improve the performance of the European defense industry will be discussed.

The outgoing chancellor emphasized that the opportunity in Brussels next week would be used to discuss strengthening Europe in the defense sector.

Concrete plans will be developed to make the defense industry more efficient. This topic will be a focus of the upcoming EU summit, according to Scholz.

Costa, for his part, echoed the chancellor’s call to invest in European defense. “We are between two meetings of the European Council. Last week’s special meeting focused on European defense and Ukraine. Next week’s meeting will have competitiveness at its core. And both themes are interlinked,” he said.

“Investing in European defence also means investing in our industries, in our technology, in jobs for our citizens. At the same time, Europe needs a strong, competitive economy to defend its interests in a challenging global context. Prosperity and security are two sides of the same coin,” he added.

Last week, European leaders agreed a massive increase in defense spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after US President Donald Trump’s push to end its war with Russia swiftly.

The bloc said the ReArm Europe plan could mobilize €800 billion, and includes a €150 billion loan scheme.​​​​​​