Wake up, Europe, rearm now!

“The Russian threat to our security is imminent, Europe must arm itself now”, says Nicolás Pascual de la Parte MEP, the EPP Group’s spokesman in Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, ahead of today's plenary debate on Europe's defence.

The casualty figures in Ukraine paint a grim picture: according to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, 55 000 Ukrainians have lost their lives over four years. The BBC estimates Russian losses at roughly three times that number. Some analysts suggest the combined death toll could exceed half a million, and may even surpass one million. “What could be more alarming than hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by the dictatorship of Vladimir Putin?” Pascual de la Parte asks.

He warns that “Europe is waking up far too slowly. Instead of debating if NATO secretary general Mark Rutte is wrong or right when saying Europe cannot defend itself without the United States, we must raise our defence capabilities to a level that leaves no room for doubt.”

“Presidents Trump, Biden and Obama have been right when calling on Europe to spend more on its defence. Unfortunately, we have been too slow to take that advice.” 

“EU member states need bigger defence budgets, targeting five percent of national GDP, and we need to rapidly strengthen EU-level funding for defence investment and innovation”, Pascual de la Parte says. 

“We must move swiftly to enhance military mobility by upgrading infrastructure and creating a military Schengen. We also need stronger surveillance along the eastern flank and increased support for Ukraine’s armed forces. And furthermore, we must build a fully functional single market for Europe’s defence industry”, Pascual de la Parte concludes.