Security in all its dimensions will be the main priority of the next rotating presidency of the EU, said Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Agnieszka Bartol, quoted by Euronews. She indicated that this topic has become very important with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House of the United States, the formation of the new European Commission and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Energy, defense and economic security will be a priority on the EU’s agenda during the next six-month rotating presidency of the Council, which represents the member states and which starts in January 2025, explained the ambassador .
Bartol presented a “very ambitious” agenda to bring some stability in times of great change and challenge.
“What do the people want? What are the people looking for? They are looking for security, and this will be the most important reason for the presidency, security in all its possible dimensions,” the ambassador told the audience present at an event organized from the think-tank European Policy Center (EPC), based in Brussels.
The Warsaw Presidency aims to work on seven different dimensions of security, from external and internal security to competitiveness, food quality, essential medicines and affordable energy prices.
Regarding energy, the Polish Presidency intends to look at ways to reduce costs for companies and citizens, with a clear focus on ensuring security of supply and diversification and energy independence.
In terms of internal and external security, the Council is expected to make progress in protecting Europe’s borders, cyber security, the fight against foreign interference and disinformation, and strengthening the defense industry of the block
Mario Draghi’s competitiveness report estimated that the EU needs to mobilize an extra 500 billion euros for defense in the next decade to keep pace with competitors such as the United States and China.
European defense spending has reached a record 279 billion euros in 2023, but estimates show that more money will be needed to cover funding gaps and invest in new projects such as the European Air Defense Shield, after years of underinvestment.
“The mentality (at the EU level) has fundamentally changed,” said Bartol, adding that now “we are talking about new defense funding, which was taboo a few years ago, and we are talking about innovative instruments (funding), which was also taboo.”
She did not mention any specific financing instrument, as discussions on the issue of common debt for defense purposes, the so-called Eurobonds, remain a sensitive topic for member states such as Germany and the Netherlands .
But the EU will need to discover new ways of financing outside the common budget, Bartol said, ideally based on the future White Paper on Defense, which should be presented during the first three months of the commissioner Kubilius.
Funds earmarked for defense in the EU budget 2021-27 amount to around €10 billion, and the EU’s next long-term budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), will not include in force until 2028, with payments to be made. it starts, at best, a year later.
Bartol argued that the EU budget, despite its crucial importance, cannot be the main tool to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities.
