That also comes to building up Europe’s own defense industry. Rutte applauded the EU’s European Defense Industry Programme, a €1.5 billion cash pot that will be aimed at spurring local arms production, calling Europe’s current weapons sector “too small, too fragmented and too slow.”
There is a dispute over whether non-EU companies should have easy access to EDIP, but Rutte warned that it should not be used to exclude allies.
“Involving non-EU allies in EU defense industrial efforts is vital, I believe, for security of Europe,” he said. “Transatlantic defense industrial cooperation makes us all stronger.”
Better together
In his first appearance in the European Parliament as NATO chief, Rutte said the aim was to “bring NATO and the EU closer together” to counter a “destabilization campaign” by the Kremlin along with threats ranging from Iran and China to cyber attacks and nuclear proliferation.
“We are safe now, but not in four or five years,” he said, adding later that if spending doesn’t go up Europeans should “get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand.”
“I’m deeply concerned about the security situation in Europe,” he said. “We are not at war, but we are not at peace either … That means we need to invest more in defense and produce more capabilities. This cannot wait. We need to boost the resilience of our societies and critical infrastructure.”