<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>On Thursday, upon his arrival at the March European Council in Brussels, President of the Government Pedro Sánchez expressed his reservations about the term "rearmament" when addressing the White Paper on Defense and the European Commission's initiative, precisely called ReArm Europe. </strong></h4> <div class="lRu31" dir="ltr"> <div id="ow30">"I don't like it at all; I don't agree with that term," declared the Prime Minister. In his opinion, it is necessary to "speak differently" and address citizens in a different language when addressing the need to strengthen European defense capabilities.</div> </div> Sánchez made these statements upon his arrival at the March European Summit, whose agenda includes, in addition to defense, the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), migration, the latest developments in the Middle East, multilateralism, and other global issues. In addition, an inclusive Euro summit will be held on the sidelines of the meeting. On the other hand, Sánchez stressed the importance of Europe strengthening its commitment to multilateralism at a time when "great powers are abandoning the multilateral order and agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization itself." In this regard, he condemned "in the strongest terms" the violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, which, according to him, are being "absolutely trampled upon and trampled." He also highlighted the importance of UN Secretary-General António Guterres' participation in the summit, stating that it is essential for the EU "to give an unequivocal signal of its commitment to defending the multilateral order." Sánchez also insisted that Europe must play a more active role in the search for peace in Ukraine, affirming that "Europe must be at the table." He thus supported the Finnish President's proposal to create a negotiating team with a representative to speak on behalf of the Europeans, asserting that the EU "must step forward to participate in the peace negotiations." Sánchez identified the EU's main challenge: "The main challenge Europe now faces is to grow internally and open itself even more externally," highlighting the importance of strengthening the single market and Europe's participation "actively and constructively in the multilateral order and in global debates." <h5><strong>Kaja Kallas</strong></h5> For her part, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas underscored the importance of the debate on Ukraine and expressed her interest in hearing from President Volodymyr Zelensky, particularly about his recent conversation with former US President Donald Trump. The head of European diplomacy welcomed Trump's announcement about seeking additional air defenses for Ukraine, calling it "extremely important." She also emphasized the need for the EU to do more, not just with words but with concrete actions, because "the stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger it will be at the negotiating table." <div class="lRu31" dir="ltr"><span class="HwtZe" lang="en"><span class="jCAhz ChMk0b"><span class="ryNqvb">Regarding the difficulty of achieving the initially proposed target of 40 billion euros to strengthen Ukraine</span></span></span>, Kallas argued that support remains among European leaders, but that it must be translated into concrete actions. She acknowledged that concerns about national budget deficits make financial commitments difficult, although the ReArm Europe initiative includes rules to relax fiscal rules and facilitate defense spending.</div> Kallas emphasized that, if a long-term financial plan cannot be agreed upon, at least immediate decisions should be made on urgent needs, such as the provision of ammunition. In this regard, he reiterated that the most realistic and achievable plan at this time is to secure €5 billion for ammunition, and affirmed that active work is underway to achieve this. She also emphasized that the EU's economic competitiveness is directly linked to its capacity to invest in defense and support Ukraine, so this will be a key discussion at the summit. She also mentioned the presentation of the White Paper on Defense and the need to discuss concrete measures to be taken together, following the discussion of financing options at the last summit two weeks ago. When asked about Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius's warning that Russia could attack a NATO or EU country before 2030, Kallas responded that it all depends on what Europe does. She argued that investing in defense and strengthening military capabilities serves as a deterrent, while weakness could incentivize aggression. <h5><strong>Just in time</strong></h5> As promised by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the extraordinary European Summit on March 6, the first detailed proposals for the plan to rearm Europe arrived just in time for the leaders' meeting. "If Europe wants peace, it must be prepared for war." With this premise in mind, Brussels presented the long-awaited White Paper on European Defense – Readiness 2030 and the ReArm Europe Plan on Wednesday, as part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure greater coordination among member states and the creation of a unified defense market. The plan includes the establishment of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, a financial mechanism that will allow Member States to access loans totaling €150 billion, backed by the EU budget. These loans will facilitate the joint procurement of military equipment, with the aim of improving interoperability between European armed forces, reducing costs, and ensuring greater predictability for the continent's defense industry. The operation of SAFE stipulates that joint procurement must involve at least two Member States, although a single Member State can open its procurement process to Ukraine or EFTA countries. Furthermore, procurement must be made from industries in the EU, Ukraine, or the European Economic Area-EFTA (EEA-EFTA). To ensure that the equipment purchased primarily comes from European industry, in the case of war products for immediate consumption, at least 65% of the cost of the final product must come from components manufactured in the EU, EFTA, or Ukraine.
