‘No space and place for complacency' over European defence, Latvian defence minister tells Euronews
'Russia is an aggressive country, this is an existential threat to all of us, and investments of course, must be made right now,' he told Euronews on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Asked if Europe could successfully ramp up its defence before the end of the decade, when intelligence services have warned Russia could have the means to attack a European NATO ally, he said: 'Yes, I believe so.'
'I think the important part is to be ready in that any aggressiveness from Russia can just come now and we have to be resilient and we have to build. Of course, it's an ongoing process.'
'And let's not underestimate who we are, let's not underestimate what we have done. But also, of course, there is no space and place for complacency,' he said.
He said the EU must expand its defence industry base and build up its capabilities.
EU nations don't yet agree on financing options
EU leaders are expected to approve measures to boost joint defence spending at a summit in late June, following the release on 19 March by the Commission of a White Paper on Defence in which the EU's executive should outline the options it sees as most viable to boost financing and the capabilities the bloc needs more urgently.
'We have to understand that the investment in the military is absolutely crucial for all of us. And here, unfortunately, I see sometimes diversity among European nations,' Spruds said.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday in Munich that she will propose to activate the escape clause in the bloc's fiscal rules to allow member states to 'substantially' increase their defence expenditures. But the measure requires unanimity from member states to be approved.
Other options that the EU is looking into include an expansion of the European Investment Bank's mandate to allow more investments in defence and for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rules to be loosened so that private banks can also pour more money into the sector.
More controversially, some member states have also called for the issuing of co-called Eurobonds - an instrument inaugurated during the pandemic to raise money to support COVID-stricken economies - to fund joint defence projects, and for EU funds to be primarily used to buy from and therefore support European manufacturers. Baltic countries are generally positive towards the former but reticent on the latter proposal.
Air defence, ammunition, drones
For Spruds, joint EU funding should be used to boost air defence - for which systems can have billion euro price tags - as well as more 'practical things like ammunition'.
The EU infamously failed to fulfill its pledge to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine in the year ending in March 2024. Ammunition production initiatives since then are going in the right direction, Spruds told Euronews, and Latvia 'expect(s) it to take place on a much wider scale also in the future'.
But EU funds should also fund innovation in defence, and close the funding gap with the US, including the development of new drone capabilities, where the bloc can get an edge thanks to the experiences and know-how gathered by Ukrainians on the battlefield, Spruds said.
Latvia and the UK are co-leading a drone coalition that gathers 17 countries and donations of around €2 billion and which provides aerial unmanned devices to Ukraine, with the Baltic country also providing testing grounds.
'Last year we made big steps, considerable steps in building up our drone army,' Spruds told Euronews. 'But we have to make the next steps, which include land drones, and also drones in the sea.'
'What we have experienced in recent months, in recent years, once more underlines that the technologies can be very helpful, very valuable and very efficient also in helping protect critical infrastructure objects in places where it's sometimes difficult to arrive quickly,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
35 minutes ago
- Local France
France adopts law upholding ban on controversial insecticide
The legislation has been at the heart of a major debate in France and sparked a student-initiated petition that was wildly successful. READ MORE: What is France's Loi Duplomb and why are people protesting about it? Critics of the bill, adopted in July in a fractured lower house of parliament, say it was rushed through without proper debate. The law was published in the government's official journal on Tuesday after the Constitutional Council, the country's highest court, struck down the contested provision about the reintroduction of acetamiprid. The court said that the insecticides known as neonicotinoids posed "risks to human health" and were unconstitutional as they undermined the right to live in a balanced and healthy environment as guaranteed in the country's environmental charter. Banned in France since 2018, acetamiprid is legal in the European Union and proponents say French farmers need it to help them compete with their European counterparts. Advertisement The main farmers' union has railed against the court ruling. Supporters of the petition said their frustration with the legislation went beyond environmental concerns. Commentators have said it may be a sign of exasperation with deadlock in a hung parliament and a desire to have a greater say in political matters. After the ruling, Macron had said he intended to quickly enact the law and rejected further parliamentary debate. The controversial legislation has been dubbed the Duplomb law, after its author, Laurent Duplomb, a senator for the right-wing Les Republicains party. French Health Minister Yannick Neuder has called for a European reassessment of the impact of acetamiprid on human health.
Euronews
36 minutes ago
- Euronews
Poland charges suspect over parcel bomb amid Russia sabotage fears
Polish prosecutors have charged one person over an alleged parcel bomb plot that also involves two Russian suspects, at a time when European governments are on high alert over acts of sabotage attributed to Moscow. Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Monday that an indictment was filed in the central town of Piotrków Trybunalski against Kristina S, a citizen of Ukraine. The accused — whose full name and age were not disclosed — was charged with being complicit in causing an immediate danger of an explosion, the ABW said. She faces up to eight years in jail if found guilty. In July 2024, Kristina S sent a package containing explosives via a courier company, according to the ABW. The package contained "explosives in the form of nitroglycol, as well as hidden military-grade electric fuses, an initiating device, a metal thermos with a shaped charge insert, and powdered aluminium," the agency said. "This structure constituted a so-called shaped charge bomb," it added. The parcel was discovered and secured in a large warehouse of the courier company in Poland's central Łódź province, the authorities said. "In the event of an explosion, the shipment could have caused significant damage to critical infrastructure, piercing sensitive fuel tanks, building ceilings or strong steel structures," said a statement by the National Prosecutor's Office. Kristina S is accused of committing the alleged offence along with another Ukrainian citizen and two Russian citizens. Two individuals have been placed under preventive detention in connection with the case, according to Polish prosecutors. Polish officials say the country is the target of espionage and hybrid war attacks initiated by Moscow that have grown more serious since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Earlier this year, Poland's interior ministry said the ABW had detained at least 44 people on suspicion of espionage or sabotage for Russia or Belarus in Poland since the start of the all-out war. Among them are Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Poles, the ministry said. More broadly, security agencies across Europe have accused Russia of staging dozens of attacks and other sabotage incidents on the continent since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, often using people with passports other than Russian for its malign activities, such as Bulgarian, Moldovan or Ukrainian. In July last year, there was a series of parcel fires targeting courier companies in Poland, Germany and the UK. Western officials blamed the incidents on the Kremlin. Moscow has repeatedly denied such allegations, despite a slew of evidence and court cases proving otherwise. In one example, a London court in March convicted a group of Bulgarians living in the UK of spying for Russia and plotting to assassinate or kidnap Kristo Grozev, a Bulgarian journalist and former lead Russia investigator with Bellingcat.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Gaza: Italian Defence Minister calls situation ‘unacceptable', Macron urges UN mission
The targeted killing of Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif,** claimed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), has provoked international outrage. Al-Sharif, one of the most prominent voices in Gaza's media, worked for the Qatari network Al Jazeera, which has described his death as a deliberate killing and an assault on press freedom. International organisations, including the United Nations, have condemned the incident, calling it a serious violation of human rights. On the political front, several European leaders criticised Israel's stated intention to occupy Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to continue the military operation. Protests have erupted not only abroad but also in Israel itself. Thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv to oppose the government's intention to occupy Gaza. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto was among the few who spoke out in recent days. 'What is happening in Gaza is unacceptable,' Crosetto told La Stampa. 'It is one thing to liberate Gaza from Hamas, and another to drive out Palestinians. The first can be called liberation; expelling an entire people from their land is something else entirely.' French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for an international mission under a UN mandate 'to avoid a predicted disaster and permanent war' following Israel's announcement that it will proceed with its occupation. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated: 'We support Israel, but we oppose its policy on Gaza.' In response to the occupation announcement, Germany - one of Israel's main arms suppliers - decided to partially suspend deliveries. Netanyahu called Merz 'a good friend' but said he had 'given in to pressure.' More than 180 journalists have lost their lives in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli army offensive. They are all Palestinians, due to Israel's ban on allowing international press access. On Sunday night, Al Jazeera reported that seven more journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, five of whom were members of the network's staff. Among them was 29-year-old Anas Al-Sharif, one of the most recognisable Palestinian reporters in the territory. The network called it a targeted strike intended to silence 'the last remaining voices reporting from Gaza.' Hours before his death, Al-Sharif had posted on X about the intensifying Israeli bombardment. The IDF accused him of leading a Hamas cell 'responsible for rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops' but offered no supporting evidence. Sara Qudah, CPJ's Middle East director, condemned Israel's unsubstantiated claims: 'Israel has a long-standing practice of accusing journalists of terrorism without providing credible proof.' The CPJ had already warned in July that Al-Sharif was being targeted in an intimidation campaign. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the killing, calling for urgent international intervention to stop the violence. Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said she was 'deeply alarmed' by the accusations against Al-Sharif, 'the last surviving Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza.' The UN Human Rights Office likewise denounced the killing, describing it as a 'grave violation of human rights.' UNICEF estimates that 12,000 children in Gaza are severely malnourished - 'a staggering increase' and 'the highest number ever recorded,' according to its Middle East and North Africa office. The latest IPC report, covering late July, found that more than 500,000 people are experiencing famine, with 39% of Gaza's population - roughly one in three - going days without food. Against this backdrop, Italy is preparing a humanitarian mission. According to government sources, 34 children from Gaza in urgent need of medical care will arrive in Italy on 13 August, accompanied by 91 family members. The mission will involve the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Civil Protection Department. Sunday's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, convened to discuss Israel's occupation plan, exposed deep divisions. European members - including the UK, Denmark, France, Greece, and Slovenia - urged Israel to back down. 'This is not the path to resolution,' France and Britain declared. 'It will bring more bloodshed and do nothing to end the conflict.' The United States maintained its support, saying it 'defends Israel's right to protect itself from Hamas terrorism.' At a Sunday press conference, Netanyahu insisted the occupation plan was 'the best way to end the war.' He said Israel did not intend to occupy Gaza City permanently but aimed to disarm Hamas, free the hostages, and implement a five-phase strategy. He also revealed that a transitional authority to administer Gaza had already been identified.
