European countries need to increase their defense budgets and strengthen their own military capabilities, particularly in the field of air defense, in order not to depend on external factors and to avoid a security vacuum.
This was stated by Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner while speaking to journalists before the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on defense issues in Brussels.
“The point is that we must achieve European defense capability. This means increasing budgets. This is the path we must follow: not relying on others, but taking responsibility into our own hands. We neglected this over recent decades — both in Austria and in Europe,” Tanner stressed.
Commenting on the reported U.S. plans not to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Germany, she said this only confirms the need to “do our homework” independently. She identified strengthening air defense as one of the priorities.
“It is important, and we see this in various situations, that we take steps, especially in the field of air defense. This is the demand of the times. Therefore, it is also very important for us in Austria to participate in the European Sky Shield initiative,” the Austrian defense minister noted.
Tanner also paid special attention to Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union concerning mutual defense. She supported the idea of clearly defining assistance scenarios in the event of an attack on an EU member state.
“It is important to act in a coordinated way and prepare for different situations. There are very different scenarios that could trigger the application of Article 42.7. It is only possible to assess what kind of support a country needs when you are in a specific situation. In Austria, we have already shown that we are prepared for many things in various areas,” Tanner said.
