German FM calls for "unprecedented levels" of investments into European defence

Europe needs a defence fund to help it strengthen its security and increase its deterrence capability, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on February 26.

In a statement issued by the German Foreign Ministry on February 26, the minister stated that Europe could "not achieve peace by ignoring reality", Caliber.Az reports, citing German media.

"Peace can only be secured through a strong and free Ukraine within a strong Europe," she added stressing, that Europe cannot be certain whether it can still rely on its American friends for defence.

Minister Baerbock has called for "unprecedented levels of investment" and the loosening of the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact to allow member states to further increase their national defence spending. Noting that for some countries — especially those with high debt and limited fiscal flexibility — this will not be enough, the minister also proposed the creation of a European defence fund that meets the scale of these challenges. 

"Additionally, we must urgently make our joint procurement more strategic and better integrate Europe’s defence industry so that each country contributes its unique national strengths," the statement read.

Stating that only a strong and, above all, self-confident Europe will be able to assert itself in this "new world", Baerbock pointed to French president Emmanuel Macron's remarks made during his recent trip to Washington, in which he made it clear that "Europe is not only standing up for its own interests but also making a decisive contribution to transatlantic security — and is ready to expand this commitment to the fullest extent."

By Nazrin Sadigova