Statement EES President Dr Ingo Friedrich, February 13, 2023
The time has come for the appointment of a dedicated EU Commissioner for Defence. With Russia attacking a sovereign country in Europe, it has proven sorely needed that Europe can and must defend itself. No expert can say how long the US is willing to shoulder the expensive "defence work" for Europe. Just think of the possibility of Donald Trump being re-elected as US President. The overall situation requires close coordination of all European defence activities in order to achieve synergy effects, save costs and prevent the dictator Putin from attacking European territories.
It is not necessary to appoint another commissioner! It would certainly be enough to bundle the previous responsibilities in such a way that defence issues can be dealt with centrally without increasing the total number of commissioners.
And it goes without saying that the entire European defence policy will remain part of NATO's strategy.