France and Germany collision on weapons “buy EU”

Unlock Digest Editor free

Halef’s roller, FT editor chooses his favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The proposed injection in the EU defender of 150 billion euro has become a new Flash point in a long battle between France and Germany over the disc before the continent and whether countries outside the block should be included.

US President Donald Trump’s threats to stop generations of American defense, Europe has pledged to increase defense Cutting and scale your internal capabilities that have shoved after the Cold War.

Last week, the European Commission offered to raise EUR 150 billion to borrow capital to increase its military production. While the broad idea has received unanimous political support, the details are still coming out, with a strong lobbying over whether it is possible to spend money on weapons made outside the block.

During the EU summit on Thursday, several leaders, including German Olaf Scholtz, said the initiative should be open to like -minded people. “It is very important for us that the projects that can be supported this are open….. Countries that are not part of the European Union, but closely cooperate, such as the UK, Norway, Switzerland or Turkey,” Scholtz said.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron, who has long supported the increase in European autonomy and enhanced domestic industrial production, said “costs should not be for a new set outside the non-European one again.”

For gaps in the critical capabilities of Europe, including air defense, far strikes, intelligence, intelligence and targeting, “the method is to identify the best businessmen and enterprises we have,” he added.

He also stated that every EU member state would be proposed “to revise orders to find out if European orders can prioritize.”

Brussels diplomats are concerned that the EUR 150 billion initiative will receive rails on the same argument that has been detaining the agreement for more than a year on the European Protection Program, paying a fund protection grants of 1.5 billion euros. Efforts to implement it stopped this winter after Paris demanded restrictions on what proportion could be spent on the components of the extra-EU and the ban on products with the protection of IP from third countries.

Officials of the commission, who instructed to draw up a detailed proposal in the next 10 days, were intended to contact Paris, Berlin and other capitals closely to make sure that it is not blocked if it is nominated for the approval by the member states.

“There is a lot of work to be done on this. It did not exist a week ago, and it should be prepared in less than two weeks,” the EU official said. “Compromms will be made.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the commission of Ursula von der that will be focused on seven key opportunities, including air and missile defense, artillery and drones, “will help the demand for demand and buy together” as well as to provide “direct military equipment for Ukraine”.

The Polish government, which is currently running EU presidency and entrusts the chairman of the ministerial sessions of the block, will be under pressure to develop a quick agreement. The initiative can be approved by a majority of 27 EU states, but the French ransom is regarded as important, even if the country can be overcome by the precedent of EDIF.

“We are at the stage where it just needs to be sorted in the name of speed, not perfection,” said the EU diplomat, which is involved in the negotiations. “But if there was a reluctance to run 1.5 billion euros for the French -language objections, as we expect to do 150 billion euros?”

The commission refused to comment.