EU releases defense white paper, ruling out US arms dealers

Recently, the European Commission released a defense white paper called "2030 Ready" and a series of legislative proposals, which have caused a huge uproar in the international political and military fields. The white paper explicitly excludes American arms manufacturers from the EU's new defense spending plan, which Newsweek believes marks a significant shift in transatlantic relations.

When announcing the white paper, European Commission President von der Leyen stressed that the EU hopes to further strengthen its ties with its allies through the plan. It is reported that according to the white paper plan, up to 800 billion euros of funds may flow into the defense sector in the future. Among them, the European Commission has promised to provide 150 billion euros in loans to member states specifically for defense spending, but this loan is only limited to internal EU member states. But in terms of joint arms procurement, non EU friendly countries also have the opportunity to participate.

It is worth noting that Ukraine, member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), EU "candidate countries" and "potential candidate countries", as well as third countries that have signed "security and defense partnership" agreements with the EU, are all on the list of countries eligible to participate in joint arms procurement, while the United States and the United Kingdom are excluded.

Looking back at the EU's defense procurement situation in recent years, about two-thirds of the procurement orders have gone to US defense companies. However, during the Trump administration, measures such as stopping military aid and intelligence sharing were taken to force Ukraine to accept peace talks with Russia, which fully exposed the risks faced by the EU's excessive reliance on US military resources.

Von der Leyen pointed out in the communique that "the era of peace dividends has long gone, and the security architecture we rely on is no longer stable. Europe is ready to take active action." She called on EU countries to increase defense spending, increase investment in European defense industry capabilities, purchase more European military products, vigorously encourage innovation in European military industry, and commit to building a common military market within the EU. This series of measures demonstrates the EU's firm determination to break free from external dependence and achieve independent development in the field of defense, and also indicates that transatlantic relations will face more variables and adjustments in the future.