(Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s nominee to be its first-ever defense commissioner said the bloc must scale up its military capabilities for a possible confrontation with Russia that could be as few as six years away.
Andrius Kubilius, who served twice as Lithuania’s prime minister, said that the EU “must be ready to meet Russia militarily in six to eight years,” adding that the bloc also needs to boost production and bolster its stocks of weapons and ammunition.
Kubilius, who faces confirmation hearings in the European Parliament next month, was quoted Wednesday evening in a statement by his European People’s Party, which holds the largest number of seats in the body. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tasked him ramping up investment in Europe’s security and unifying the highly fragmented European defense industry.
His Russia warning echoes a similar one from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said in January that Russia could attack NATO in “five to eight years.”
As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is well into its third year, Europe has been increasingly aware of the risk Moscow might eventually pose to NATO itself, and particularly to its more vulnerable eastern flank. In recent weeks, several Russian drones have breached the airspace of eastern European countries.
After being nominated for the defense post, Kubilius said it would be worth exploring the option of issuing joint bonds in order to raise the additional €500 billion ($556 billion) needed to bring the EU’s industry up to speed. Selling more joint debt is a proposal that some member states, particularly, Germany, have so far opposed.
Kubilius also floated creating a mandatory ammunition stockpiles for the EU, an idea that triggered a sharp response from Jens Stoltenberg during his last days in office as NATO chief before handing over to Dutchman Mark Rutte.
“I welcome more EU efforts on defense, as long as they are done in a way that doesn’t duplicate or compete with NATO,” Stoltenberg said, praising the new commissioner’s announced task of addressing the issue of the fragmentation of the European defense industry. But, he added, the EU should not “start to build alternative defense structures.”
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