Europe must rapidly build defence independence, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius says

BRUSSELS: Europe ‍must “very rapidly” build ​independence in defence, European ⁠Union Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Wednesday.

“We need to ‌develop ‌pan-European capabilities, not only national ones, ‌assigned to each member state by NATO capability targets”, Kubilius said in a speech at the European Defence Agency.

“To be clear, ‌independence ‍does not mean: ‍alone. Independence means together,” he added.

“Building a ‌European Pillar in NATO. Together in the European Union, together in NATO and with Ukraine.”

Kubilius urged the ‍European defence industry to invest in production potential, ‍to ⁠avoid delays.

“Capabilities, ⁠not profits, matter most now and will matter in the coming years,” he said.