Ressler: Croatia has a strong defense industry and capacities for the production of defense products

Croatian Member of the European Parliament Karlo Ressler today presented a new Act on strengthening the European defense industry through joint public procurement at the House of Europe in Zagreb. The Act, worth 500 million euros , aims to reduce administrative issues, increase the competitiveness of the European defense industry, and strengthen relations among member states.

‒ For certain countries, this provides an opportunity for savings in joint procurement that should enhance the efficiency of public spending, but also facilitate mutual cooperation ‒ said Ressler at the press conference.

Ressler emphasized the importance of the defense industry, which has been rarely mentioned until now, and pointed out that Europe must not depend on external forces, making the development of the defense industry extremely important.

‒ There are still numerous challenges, with one of the biggest being the lack of capacity in the defense industry in Europe and the lack of intelligent ways to address the difficulties faced by member states due to rising prices resulting from increased demand ‒ explained Ressler.

The representative also highlighted the fact that European Union institutions have secured ‘completely fresh’ money that does not come from other funds because, he claims, the initiative is of such importance that funds should not be taken from existing programs.

‒ There are three key conditions that should ensure that public procurement of weapons can be financed through this new instrument. These are joint procurement by at least three member states, procurement through companies, and the persistence of the principle of coordination between the resources that will be used at both NATO and EU levels; in other words, there should be interoperability in the purpose of these products ‒ explained Ressler, although he could not answer which countries Croatia could partner with for public procurement.

Ressler also mentioned that Croatia has a strong defense industry and capacities for the production of defense products, and this Act could increase competitiveness for a large number of companies and bring them closer to new technologies.