Regarding your report “Europe’s security industry searches for scale as Trump demands spending” (Report, February 15), a new deal for European arms manufacturing is needed to rebalance European security needs, achieve economies of scale and control costs in armaments procurement.
As Donald Trump’s re-election made clear, Europe needs to spend more on defence, but its procurement policies are slow and expensive; as in the UK, despite the government’s “defence and security industrial strategy”. To overcome this historic conundrum, we need to fuse western European capital, eastern European costs and the EU’s collective self-interest.
A new framework for manufacturing basic munitions and materiel (bullets, shells, bombs and M4 carbines), as well as the “new necessities” of warfare such as drones, would simultaneously maintain Ukrainian defensive capabilities and replenish western arms stocks over a commercially realistic commitment period of 10 to 15 years.
For this, Ukraine must establish a pan-European arms manufacturer. Supportive EU nations should invest 70 per cent of the capital, contributions ranked by GDP. Ukraine will own 30 per cent of the enterprise, its contribution being in kind: land, equipment, intellectual property and human capital. Ukraine’s drone skills benefit us all. Perhaps there would also be a “golden share”. Production must be part outsourced to friendly neighbours — Poland surely, but Austria, south-east Europe and the Baltic states, maybe even Turkey. Perhaps less would be sourced to high-cost Germany, France or the UK. Such dispersion reduces the risk of Russian attack on factories, and spreads the economic benefits.
This enterprise would not only produce for Ukraine’s long-term defence, but would bolster, at a far lower cost than under present western procurement arrangements, the capacity of both the EU and the UK to fight a war. Preparation now is the best protection against future war. Such an initiative would, vitally, send a strong signal, re-establishing Europe’s negotiating position on Ukraine and on European security, so casually discarded by Trump and his defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Paul Serfaty
Director, Yenji Limited, London W8, UK
