Europe will compensate Kyiv for the lack of US aid

The European defense industry has five to eight years to ramp up production to the required volume, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius admitted, writes dw.com.

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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is convinced that Europe will eventually have to cover the lack of defense aid to Washington and Kyiv on its own. Pistorius said this in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, published on Saturday, December 16.

“We understand that sooner or later we will have to make up here and there for what may no longer be coming from Washington. Theoretically, there may be areas where we will not be able to immediately compensate everything without problems," Pistorius answered when asked by journalists whether he and his European colleagues are preparing for the "worst case scenario" when Europe will have to compensate Ukraine for aid if it stops come from the USA.

To a clarifying question, in which sectors difficulties may arise, Pistorius indicated that it will take time before the European defense industry can increase production volumes. "We have approximately five to eight years to make up for lost time - both in the armed forces and in industry and society," he warned and reminded that Russia is now significantly increasing the production of weapons and ammunition.

According to Pistorius, "threats of Russian President Vladimir Putin against the Baltic countries, Georgia and Moldova should be taken very seriously." "It's not just the rattling of weapons. We may face threats at the end of this decade. However, by that time we will be ready for them," predicted the head of the German Ministry of Defense.

Pistorius does not rule out the possibility of returning compulsory military service to Germany

Pistorius also spoke during the interview in support of Bundeswehr employees coming to schools more often and telling students about their service and missions. "This is not militarism, but general education. It is futile to simply hope for peace and ignore the tasks necessary to guarantee that peace. I will talk about it with the ministers of culture and the heads of state governments," Pistorius promised.

Asked whether he was considering a return to "conscription models", Pistorius said he was "considering all options". "But for any model, it doesn't matter what it is, a political majority is needed. At one time, there were reasons to abolish compulsory military service. However, in retrospect, it turned out to be a mistake, the Minister of Defense believes. "It's just structurally, constitutionally, and politically difficult to introduce it again now."

Against this background, Pistorius pointed to the example of Sweden, which returned universal military service in 2017.

Conscription was abolished in Germany in 2011.

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