By Cristina Gallardo

The European Union's top official called on member states to buy more weapons from defense companies within the bloc, as she announced a new mechanism to boost joint procurement.

Delivering a speech in Copenhagen on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the commission will set up a European Military Sales Mechanism and simplify rules around joint procurement to help member states pool their demand for defense systems, in a bid to secure a steady stream of multi-year orders for EU defense companies.

"Today the majority of defense investment goes outside Europe. In other words: good jobs outside Europe. Research, development and innovation outside Europe. This is not sustainable. We must buy more European," she said.

The chief of the EU's executive arm said the 27-strong bloc must rearm, expand its defense industry and develop a credible deterrence by 2030 to be able to defend itself from Russia, as the U.S. moves its focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific.

In order to achieve those goals, she said that the EU must boost its industry's capacity to produce defense systems and equipment in the quantities and speed that member states need, and address its historic fragmentation, "with dominant national players catering to domestic markets."

Her comments come one day ahead of the publication by the commission of "Readiness 2030," a roadmap detailing her plans to unleash up to 800 billion euros ($873.88 billion) for defense by allowing member states to take out loans to boost their armed forces without breaching the EU's strict fiscal rules, facilitating joint procurement among EU countries, and boosting private financing from the European Investment Bank and on capital markets.

She was speaking as German lawmakers prepared to vote on a bill to create a special fund worth 500 billion euros for infrastructure, defense and climate change.

In addition to spending more, Von der Leyen said that the EU should also aim to close capability gaps in military infrastructure and mobility through large-scale collaborations, as well as to develop cutting-edge technology for the battlefield, such as all types of unmanned drones, the software and sensors they use, and quantum computing.

"By 2030, we need a functioning EU-wide network of land corridors, airports and seaports that facilitate the fast transport of troops and military equipment," she said. "At the same time, we need to invest in air and missile defense, artillery systems, ammunition and missiles."

The EU, which has provided Ukraine with about 50 billion euros in military support and trained more than 73,000 Ukrainian troops, will also aim to increase support for Ukraine, in order to make the country "strong enough to be indigestible for potential invaders," she added.

Write to Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2025 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)

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