THINKING BRETON OF IT? Now that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has officially pledged to appoint a defense commissioner, France’s Thierry Breton — whose internal market portfolio included the defense industry — is in pole position, according to some diplomats and officials.
However, one diplomat said that no decision has been taken about portfolios in Paris, while another was very critical of the Breton option: “Member states wouldn’t like to see someone in the job with the reputation of prioritizing national interests.” Breton’s office declined to comment.
EU DEFENSE STRATEGY TO FILL GAPS: Latvia hasn’t yet had a national discussion on how to fund EU defense ambitions, but one thing is clear: Any EU defense strategy must be aimed at filling gaps, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže told Jacopo. “We should make it clear both in NATO and the EU that initiatives such as the European Defence Industrial Strategy are welcome, but that they should be targeted at filling the capability gaps identified by our commanders with reference to concrete defense plans, primarily within NATO.”
Not to boost exports: EU plans should not aim to increase exports of weapons, she warned: “We cannot afford to prioritize European funding for the production of capabilities for sale in Asia or elsewhere. Instead, the priority must be ensuring that our forces have what they need, that they are interoperable and capable of deterring [threats] and defending our territory.”
She also warned that EU member countries continue to tolerate the widespread evasion of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including on dual-use material.
Click here for the interview.
LATVIA APPROVES 12-YEAR ARMY DEVELOPMENT PLAN: The roadmap includes guidance for industry on areas of investment according to capability priorities; more reservists; and the development of military infrastructure.
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‘WE’RE TALKING,’ LEONARDO SAYS: Leonardo’s space boss Franco Ongaro says Europe’s aerospace players are discussing what a satellite-producing major to take on Starlink might look like, but warns there’s no blueprint in place and clear hurdles remain ahead.
“All these companies are thinking about what would be the future,” Ongaro said on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show when asked if Thales and Airbus are onboard with a tie-up in the space sector.
“Our CEO has mentioned that Europe needs to have some larger champions,” Ongaro noted, referring to ex-Italian Ecological Transition Minister Robert Cingolani, who now runs Leonardo. “That being said, it’s not that easy to create larger champions in this environment. As of today, we’re talking together.”
We need IRIS²: The EU’s troubled IRIS² multi-orbit satellite constellation will be a “saving anchor” for the bloc’s space industry, Ongaro said. “This is a moment worldwide where geostationary [orbit] telecoms is not doing very well.”
His company isn’t in the SpaceRise consortium that wants to build and operate the constellation, but it does own a third of Thales Alenia Space and two-thirds of Telespazio. The latter has already announced it is one of the big ground station operators for IRIS², but is waiting on the official go-ahead.
“Being selected and seeing the project not started is not very nice,” Ongaro said.
SOUTH ENVOY APPOINTED: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has made the appointment of Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina as Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood official. The choice has turned Italy against Stoltenberg, as we reported here.
FROM ARMED FORCES TO ROBOTICS: The former commander of Estonia’s defense forces, General Martin Herem, in August becomes military strategy advisor at local firm Milrem Robotics.
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