Ex-EU Commission chief Juncker proposes European defence bonds
Former European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed funding the defence expenditures of European nations through joint bonds.
"That the Bundeswehr needs more money, like other armies in Europe, is beyond question," Juncker told German news portal t-online, referring to the German Armed Forces, in remarks published on Saturday morning.
He said that he believes the issue should not be resolved solely by German debt, but that European bonds should be issued to meet the financial challenge.
However, Juncker noted that this is a long path, referencing the previous debate on Eurobonds, which were particularly contentious in Germany. "What I am proposing now and what was done in connection with the pandemic are purpose-bound European bonds," he said.
Juncker criticized Europe's current defence policy as inadequate. "The European defence budgets are too meagre to be taken seriously," he said, adding that Europe urgently needs to become more independent.
At present, he noted, "there are only two armies in Europe that would be ready for immediate deployment, and those are the French and British."
In addition to increased investments, Juncker called for structural reforms: "If we organized procurement in Europe a bit more sensibly, with fewer weapon types, fewer tank types, fewer helicopter types, we could save €100 billion [$104 billion] per year."
Juncker is also aware of the difficulties in implementing this proposal. He mentioned that there are "national domains that people are reluctant to relinquish. The Germans will never give up building their own tanks," he said.
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