EU Must Invest More in Defence to Safeguard Peace and Security along Borders, EU Budget Commissioner Serafin Says

Increased defence investment must be reflected in the European Union's next seven-year budget if the bloc is to safeguard peace and security along its borders, European Commissioner for…

Increased defence investment must be reflected in the European Union's next seven-year budget if the bloc is to safeguard peace and security along its borders, European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin said at a forum in Sofia on Thursday. He was speaking at a conference on "The Next Multiannual Financial Framework: Priorities and Principles".

The event is jointly organized by the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, the Embassy of Poland in Bulgaria, and the Sofia office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and is part of Serafin’s program during his two-day visit to Bulgaria. The European Commissioner opened the forum by presenting the priorities for the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034).

He noted that the obvious challenge facing the EU budget is that no one knows exactly what the next seven years will bring, but nevertheless, it is time to make decisions. "We are building a budget for the world that still does not exist. Yet we have to make decisions now about funding for common projects, strengthening security, competitiveness, the regions and farmers," he said. In his words the challenge is to set clear priorities, while living enough room to respond when circumstances change.

He underlined that if this is done right, the seven-year budget would have a one obvious benefit - it would offer stability and predictability in the world in which we do not know what could happen tomorrow. He described increased defence spending as essential in light of the EU's aggressive neighbour, Russia. "We already know that because of the external pressure our Union must do more than before.

Because of the war on the European continent and an aggressive and ruthless neighbor, Russia, we need to invest more in defence. This is a must if we want to preserve peace within the Union and security on our borders," Serafin said. The EU Commissioner said that the Union needs an economy that can compete globally and innovate, but that requires investments and scale that no single Member State can offer.