European Union states are buying too much defense equipment from abroad, with nearly two-thirds of it coming from the US, after failing to invest enough in joint military projects, a report on EU competitiveness has warned. on Monday, reports the "AP" agency.
The 27 member states are also failing to make the best use of Europe's research and development capacity to modernize their militaries, says the report by former Italian prime minister and former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
The report comes as the EU struggles to find enough weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine survive the Russian invasion.
"Europe is wasting its common resources. We have great collective spending power, but we dilute it through various national and EU instruments," the report states.
Part of the problem is said to be the fact that member states are failing to invest in building stronger defense firms.
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The report also states that the EU should fear for its existence. The report said that the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have changed the rules of international trade to the detriment of the EU and that the bloc needs an additional investment of 750 billion to 800 billion euros a year to build a more resilient economy. and to gain pace.
"We are already in a state of crisis and ignoring this means slipping into a situation you don't want to have," said Draghi.
