EU Lawmaker Calls for Switch to War Economy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party, the largest in the European Parliament, on Thursday said that the European Union needs to switch to war economy against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis.

“If we look at our need for arms and ammunition, it becomes clear that we need, although it is a tricky term, a kind of war economy in the EU in order to be able to ensure stability and security,” Weber told German media.

European countries are currently unable to quickly provide the necessary weapons "neither for their own defense, nor for Ukraine." In this regard the EU countries should increase their capacities for the production of weapons and ammunition, he said.

Weber added that he was disappointed by the recent German-French talks, which resulted in "nothing concrete." In his opinion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have not yet been able to respond to "historical challenges."

"Both [Scholz and Macron] are trapped in managing day-to-day life. Macron is busy with pension reform, and Scholz with his traffic light coalition. It is a failure that weakens Europe for a long time," Weber said.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons was not conducive to peace negotiations and would have a detrimental effect on the conflict.