Watch: Metsola Warns Russia Makes More Weapons In Three Months Than EU Makes In A Year
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola urged the EU to seriously ramp up its defence spending, warning that Russia currently makes more weapons in three months than the EU makes in a year.
“Europe must get serious about its own defence – we need both the will and the wallet,” Metsola told a European Policy Centre debate this week.
“We all understand that in this new world, Europe must spend more and ensure better interoperability of our forces.”
“We must all be ready to take decisions, however painful, to put our money where our mouths are, and we are doing that with action.”
Metsola said that while EU member states have increased their defence spending by 31% since 2021, they are still seriously trailing behind Russia.
“Russia spends 9% of its GDP on defence, which means that they make more weapons in three months than we do in a year. We need to do our utmost to spend more and to spend smarter.”
Metsola also tried to make the point that defence investment could actually boost EU innovation, arguing that technologies such as the internet, drones and GPS originally emerged from the defence sector.
“Today we buy almost 80% of our defence equipment from outside the EU. If we invested more in our European defence, we would drive innovation, boost our economy and create high-skilled jobs. The European Parliament understands this,” she said.
EU member state leaders are set to meet in Brussels today to discuss a proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to mobilise up to €800 billion in defence spending.
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