European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said on Friday that the United States is not in a position to provide enough missiles to the Gulf states and Ukraine to defend themselves, reported Xinhua.
"It became more urgent for us in Europe to ramp up production of air defense and anti-ballistic missiles," Kubilius said in Warsaw during a joint press conference with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
He cited a recent assessment by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying Europe needs to increase production capacity related to missile defense by about 400 percent.
Kubilius noted that amid Europe's shortage of anti-missile systems, Poland could play a very important role in the production of such weapons. He also said that without making use of funds provided under the European Union's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, the opportunity to build an effective missile defense system could be missed.
Regarding recent discussions in Poland surrounding the SAFE program, Kubilius said he was "surprised." He noted that the decision on how to strengthen defense capabilities ultimately rests with Poland, but emphasized that obtaining loans under the SAFE mechanism is important as Europe needs to rapidly enhance its missile defense capabilities.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said after the meeting that it is even more important for Europe to achieve independence in weapons production and strengthen its own defense industry capabilities. He noted that their talks focused mainly on the EU's SAFE program, which aims to strengthen the security of Poland and Europe while promoting greater independence in European defense production.
- US
- Missile
- Gulf
- Ukraine
- EU
- Commissioner
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
