The European Commission has confirmed that it will gradually eliminate the expression “rearm Europe” to describe its initiative of several billion to Europe, later.
The European Commission has confirmed that it will gradually eliminate the expression “rearm to Europe” to describe its multimillion -dollar initiative to buy weapons from Europe after the reaction of the leaders of Italy and Spain, who argue that the name is charged excessively and runs the risk of alienating citizens.
From now on, the plan to increase defense and production capabilities throughout the block will be known as “2030 preparation”, a reference to the date on which Russia I could have The necessary skills to launch an attack against an EU or NATO Member State.
However, the specific program to collect and distribute 150 billion euros in low interest loans to facilitate the acquisition of advanced weapons and ammunition will be called “safe.” At the same time, the Commission also proposed the flexibility of fiscal rules to mobilize up to 650 billion euros, a total of 800 billion euros.
“We are sensitive to the fact that the name itself can generate some sensitivity in some Member States, so it is something we naturally listen to,” said Paula Pinho, the main spokesman for the committee on Friday afternoon.
“If this hinders the transmission of the message to all EU citizens about the need to take these measures, we are willing not only to listen, but also to reflect this sensitivity in the way we communicate on the subject.”
The new name, “preparation 2030” must be seen in the context of a broader reach, “Pinho explained.
The brand change took place in an extremely short period of time.
When Ursula von der Leyen presented the project of 800 billion euros on March 4, he used only the term “Europe of Europe” to describe it. “We are in an era of rearma. And Europe is ready to greatly increase its defense expenses,” said the president of the committee.
But earlier this week, when the commission presented the legal texts that support the plan, the expression changed to “2030 preparation preparation plan”.
Before the presentation, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had openly expressed her discomfort with the word.
“I think ‘rewarding Europe’ is a misleading name for citizens, because we are called to reinforce our defense capabilities, but today this does not mean buying weapons trivially,” Meloni told the Senate on Tuesday.
For Meloni, the approach must be broader and cover “operability, essential services, energy infrastructure, supply chains: everything that is not simply done with weapons.”
“There is no defense without this approach,” said Meloni.
His Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, left doubts about his aversion to the term during An EU leaders summit In Brussels, where defense was the main theme. Like Meloni, the Spanish defended a broader definition, which includes areas such as cybersecurity, the fight against terrorism, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and satellite ties.
“I do not like the term ‘rearme’. I think it is an incomplete approach. The defense can be explained under a much broader concept, which is security,” said Sánchez on Thursday, adding that the threats faced by EAST’s southern Europe are “slightly different”.
ADVERTISING“I think we have to educate people about the fact that when we talk about security and defense, we are talking fundamentally about technology, often about double -use goods, because drones that can be used in case of conflict, as is happening in eastern Ukraine, can also be used to combat forest fires.”
At the end of the summit, von der Leyen was receiving criticism and implied that a reformulation of the brand is imminent, which could neglect the designation “I will rearm Europe.”
“The approach we are adopting has a much broader reach,” he said, referring to electronic warfare, cybersecurity and telecommunications.
“Therefore, the name ‘Preparation 2030 (Ready 2030)'”.
ADVERTISINGThe complaints expressed by Italy and Spain have raised some doubts, since the two countries are among the latest NATO, not reaching the objective of 2% of the defense expenses.
