The EU wants to strengthen the European Defense Agency

AA / Istanbul / Ilayda Cakirtekin

The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, announced on Tuesday an agreement by member states to strengthen the European Defense Agency (EDA), in a context marked by tensions in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

At the end of a meeting of Defense Ministers in Brussels, Kallas indicated that the Twenty-Seven decided to provide the agency with new structures dedicated to “innovation and experimentation”, while continuing efforts aimed at developing joint purchases of military equipment.

For the European leader, innovation in the defense sector must now become “a political priority”.

Referring to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, she considered that the region was in “a gray zone between war and peace”, while calling for a new escalation to be avoided.

“We support all diplomatic initiatives allowing a solution,” she declared, believing that a closure of the strait – “the most strategic maritime route in the world” – would be “unthinkable”.

Kallas also highlighted the “vital role” that European naval operations could play in securing maritime routes and restoring trade and energy flows. According to her, Operation Aspides, deployed by the EU in the Red Sea in the face of Houthi attacks, could see its mandate extended to the Strait of Hormuz.

The European official also warned against Moscow’s ambitions, saying that “Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation with the West.”

“The question of whether Vladimir Putin will dare to test European defenses really depends on us,” she continued, saying that “deterrence works when it is credible” and that “showing weakness only encourages aggression.”

Believing that the European defense industry had not yet reached the necessary pace, Kallas called on member states to increase their funding and accelerate arms production in order to fill European capability gaps more quickly.

*Translated from English by Ayse Betul Akcesme