Europe’s mountain of onerous green rules is stopping nations from preparing for defending against a possible Russian invasion, the continent’s defence ministers have warned in a leaked letter. The Telegraph has the story.
In a leaked letter obtained by the Telegraph, the nations’ defence ministers argued that the rules had stopped the expansion of military bases and prevented fighter jet pilots from training.
In a letter to Andrius Kubilius, the Defence Commissioner, the ministers said it was clear that EU legislation must “not prevent member states’ armed forces from carrying out necessary activities to become operationally ready. But right now, it does”.
They said this was “mainly (but not exclusively) in the areas of procurement legislation, nature conservation and environmental protection, and more generally the administrative burden on defence organisations deriving from various EU legal acts”.
The letter was signed by the Dutch, Swedish, German, Belgian, Czech, Latvian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Finnish, Estonian and Danish governments.
In 2023, the European commission published its ‘Greening the Armies’ report, highlighting ways in which militaries present a challenge to tackling climate change.
It pushed for European armed forces to consider more virtual training exercises, rather than real-world sessions, in order to cut down on emissions.
EU sources said directives on habitats, the protection of wild birds and waste were also standing in the way of European preparations for combating any Russian invasion.
The waste directive, for example, means militaries have to hit certain quotas for waste disposal – something that could hinder their ability to exercise with live munitions.
“At the moment, some EU legislation forms a direct obstacle to the armed forces,” the letter said, adding: “Credible deterrence in practice means growing the armed forces, which requires space for training, including flying, navigating and driving and building appropriate amenities.”
The ministers called for every new piece of EU legislation to be screened for its impact on the continent’s rearmament efforts before it is allowed to enter into force.
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