At a meeting in Paris on Wednesday, the defense ministers of Europe’s five biggest military spenders reiterated their commitment to continue their support for Ukraine. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Italy said they would continue to send troops to Ukraine to secure the country in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia. The countries also expressed their willingness to provide more military support to secure peace agreements.
Europe's Defense Spending and the Importance of Support for Ukraine
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, in a statement at a press conference, said that real negotiations will begin soon and that the speed of the media is faster than diplomatic processes, and that all these processes must be managed carefully. In terms of European security, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Italy are preparing to take on more responsibility after the United States reduced its commitments in Europe. According to NATO data, these five countries plan to spend a total of $2024 billion in military spending in 314. This figure stands out as the largest military spending in Europe.
Ceasefire and Security Guarantees
The US and Ukraine have taken an important step towards securing security guarantees for Ukraine after a ceasefire with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a ceasefire would end the war and ensure Ukraine's security. This development is also of great importance for European countries. Lecornu stressed that a ceasefire should not resemble the Yalta Conference, the Budapest Memorandum or the Minsk Agreements. He said that instead of disarmament, the best security guarantee for Ukraine would be to strengthen its armed forces.
Black Sea Security and Nuclear Power Plants
Another important issue that came up at the meeting was security in the Black Sea. Lecornu stated that in addition to increasing security threats in the Black Sea, the security of nuclear power plants in Ukraine has also become a priority. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that keeping Russia away from Europe means supporting Ukraine. It was emphasized that Europe's defense plan should be rethought with a more global perspective.
Europe's Space and Air Defense Capabilities
French Minister Lecornu stated that Europe’s air defense capacity needs to be rethought. In particular, there was a consensus that long-range air defense systems need to be modernized. It was also stated that serious progress needs to be made in the space field. Lecornu said that Europe needs to get rid of dependencies such as Starlink and that local projects such as IRIS2 need to be accelerated in this area.
European Defence Industry and Supply Chain
Another agenda item was the European defense industry and bottlenecks in the supply chain. Lecornu stated that supply chains should be strengthened and that local production should be increased for this purpose. It was emphasized that production capacities should be increased among European countries and more investment should be made in joint projects. Lecornu said that investments in production lines will play a critical role in increasing Europe's security.
Fast and Effective Joint Defense Procurement
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said European countries have very different weapons systems and that procurement systems need to be accelerated. The ministers outlined three main steps to standardize how governments formulate their weapons requests and make common procurement processes less bureaucratic. Pistorius said that security priorities across Europe should be prioritized over national interests.
Europe is likely to continue to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses and play an active role in the peace process. The defense ministers of these five countries have stated that they will take more responsibility for Ukraine’s security and Europe’s defense, in cooperation with NATO and other international alliances. However, for these processes to be successful, European countries need to increase their military spending, overcome supply chain barriers, and restructure their security strategies.
