EU signals a new drive to buy European weapons and break its security dependency on the U.S.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rings a bell to signify the start of the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday announced a new drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defence equipment in Europe rather than from suppliers across the Atlantic.

The EU’s executive branch unveiled its “Readiness 2030” security strategy with the threat of Russian aggression at the forefront of concerns. NATO intelligence estimates suggest that Russia could be capable of launching an attack in Europe again in three to five years.

Under the new strategy, member countries will be urged to buy much of its military equipment in Europe, working mostly with European suppliers – in some cases with EU help to cut prices and speed up orders. They should only purchase equipment from abroad when costs, performance or supply delays make it preferable.

In recent years, the 27 EU nations have placed about two-thirds of their orders with U.S. defence companies. To qualify for new loans, they would have to buy at least 65% of equipment from suppliers in the EU, Norway or Ukraine.

“The era of the peace dividend is long gone. The security architecture that we relied on can no longer be taken for granted,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “We must invest in defence, strengthen our capabilities, and take a proactive approach to security.”

“We must buy more European. Because that means strengthening the European defence technological and industrial base. That means stimulating innovation. And that means creating an EU-wide market for defence equipment,” she added.

Last month, the Trump administration signaled that U.S. security priorities lay elsewhere – on its own borders and in Asia – and that Europeans would have to fend for themselves and Ukraine in future, as Europe’s biggest land war in decades entered its fourth year.

The strategy resembles the RepowerEU scheme that the commission proposed in 2022 to wean the bloc off Russian natural gas in the months after President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine and used energy as a weapon to undermine EU support for Kyiv.

It saw the EU’s dependence on Russian gas imports fall 45% in 2021, to only 15% in 2023.

The new blueprint was unveiled on the eve of a summit of EU government leaders for them to assess. At emergency talks on March 6, the leaders signed off on proposals to ease budget restrictions and create a 150-billion-euro (US$164 billion) loan plan for defence projects.

Defence firms in the U.S., U.K., and Turkey would be excluded from the loan plan unless those governments sign security agreements with the EU. France has pushed the “buy European” approach, but countries like Poland and the Netherlands want to by U.S. equipment.

EU nations are encouraged to boost security ties with NATO allies that are not members of the EU, including Britain, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan, South Korea and India.

The strategy notes that while the United States remains a key Western ally, it has been clear “that it believes it is over-committed in Europe and needs to rebalance, reducing its historical role as a primary security guarantor.”

Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s recently appointed and first-ever defence commissioner, warned that “450 million European Union citizens should not have to depend on 340 million Americans to defend ourselves.”

“We really can do better,” he said.

Spending priorities for joint purchase would be air and missile defence systems, artillery, ammunition, drones, equipment for use in cyber and electronic warfare, and “strategic enablers” like air-to-air refueling and land border security installations.

To help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, the aim would be to provide at least two million artillery rounds each year, supply more air defence systems, missiles and drones, and to continue to train tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops annually.

More money would also be funneled into Ukraine’s defence industry, which is cheaper and much closer to the battlefield.

Lorne Cook, The Associated Press