STRASBOURG: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said Europe must ramp up its defenses to deter Russia’s “hybrid warfare,” after a catalogue of air incursions, cyberattacks and damage to undersea cables.
“These incidents are calculated to linger in the twilight of deniability. This is not random harassment. It is a coherent and escalating campaign,” the European Commission head said in a speech to EU lawmakers.
“Two incidents are coincidence, but three, five, 10 — this is a deliberate and targeted grey zone campaign against Europe, and Europe must respond,” she said.
EU countries Poland, Estonia and Romania have recently been rattled by Russian air incursions, while unidentified drones have been spotted in Denmark, Germany and Belgium.
European countries have already increased defense spending to post-Cold War highs in the face of Moscow’s war in Ukraine and doubts over US support under President Donald Trump.
Now the EU is seeking to hammer out plans for joint projects that could be built by the 27-nation bloc — including a “wall” of anti-drone defenses.
“We must not only react. We must deter because if we hesitate to act, the grey zone will only expand,” von der Leyen said.
“The founding mission of the European Union is to preserve peace, and today that means having the capacity to deter aggression and provocation.”
EU leaders will seek at a summit in Brussels later this month to agree on a “road map” aimed at getting the bloc ready to ward off threats from Russia in the coming years.
“This will not only set common objectives, but also very concrete milestones and timelines on the way to 2030 because we all know only what gets measured gets really done,” von der Leyen said.
The commission president insisted that tackling “Russia’s hybrid war” requires “a completely new mindset for all of us.”
“The choice before us is very simple. We either can shy away and watch Russian threats escalate, or we meet them with unity, deterrence and resolve,” von der Leyen said.
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EU ‘must respond’ to Russia’s ‘hybrid warfare’: von der Leyen
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EU ‘must respond’ to Russia’s ‘hybrid warfare’: von der Leyen
- EU leaders will seek at a summit in Brussels later this month to agree on a “road map” aimed at getting the bloc ready to ward off threats from Russia in the coming years
- The commission president insisted that tackling “Russia’s hybrid war” requires “a completely new mindset for all of us”
Trump Maritime Action Plan eyes levies on China goods to resurrect US shipbuilding
- Maritime prosperity zones proposed to boost investment and workforce training
- Maritime Security Trust Fund to finance shipyard revitalization
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Friday released its plan to rebuild US shipbuilding and other maritime businesses, paid for in part by port fees on cargo delivered to the United States on ships made in China — levies the US and China agreed to pause for one year.
The Maritime Action Plan offers a road map for the revival of US shipbuilding, which has shrunk since World War Two and now severely lags China and other nations.
Coming in at more than 30 pages, the plan calls for establishing maritime prosperity zones to bolster investment, reforming workforce training and education, expanding the fleet of US-built and US-flagged commercial ships, establishing a dedicated funding stream through a Maritime Security Trust Fund and reducing regulations.
The Trump administration early last year announced plans to levy fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and help pay for a US shipbuilding renaissance. The so-called Section 301 penalties followed a US probe that concluded China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate global shipping.
The fees, which sparked intense pushback from the global shipping industry and intensified tensions between the world’s two largest economies, hit on October 14 and were expected to generate an estimated $3.2 billion annually from Chinese-built vessels sailing to US ports.
But China retaliated with its own port fees on US-linked ships and the tit-for-tat fees disrupted global shipping. Soon after, the two sides struck a deal to put the levies on hold for 12 months.
On Friday, Shipyard owners, investors and the bipartisan sponsors of the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act welcomed President Donald Trump’s maritime plan, which landed months later than hoped.
US Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, said there is substantial overlap between Trump’s vision and the plan in that proposed law, which he reintroduced last year with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and other lawmakers.
Importantly, the SHIPS Act would establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund to reinvest port fee proceeds into maritime security and infrastructure projects such as shipyard revitalization. It has rare backing from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington, but has not made swift progress.
“The announcement today should serve as a wake-up call for Congress to act quickly on this bill in order to provide the legal authorities and resources necessary to make this plan a reality,” Young said. “It’s time to make American ships again.”
The Maritime Action Plan offers a road map for the revival of US shipbuilding, which has shrunk since World War Two and now severely lags China and other nations.
Coming in at more than 30 pages, the plan calls for establishing maritime prosperity zones to bolster investment, reforming workforce training and education, expanding the fleet of US-built and US-flagged commercial ships, establishing a dedicated funding stream through a Maritime Security Trust Fund and reducing regulations.
The Trump administration early last year announced plans to levy fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and help pay for a US shipbuilding renaissance. The so-called Section 301 penalties followed a US probe that concluded China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate global shipping.
The fees, which sparked intense pushback from the global shipping industry and intensified tensions between the world’s two largest economies, hit on October 14 and were expected to generate an estimated $3.2 billion annually from Chinese-built vessels sailing to US ports.
But China retaliated with its own port fees on US-linked ships and the tit-for-tat fees disrupted global shipping. Soon after, the two sides struck a deal to put the levies on hold for 12 months.
On Friday, Shipyard owners, investors and the bipartisan sponsors of the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act welcomed President Donald Trump’s maritime plan, which landed months later than hoped.
US Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, said there is substantial overlap between Trump’s vision and the plan in that proposed law, which he reintroduced last year with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and other lawmakers.
Importantly, the SHIPS Act would establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund to reinvest port fee proceeds into maritime security and infrastructure projects such as shipyard revitalization. It has rare backing from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington, but has not made swift progress.
“The announcement today should serve as a wake-up call for Congress to act quickly on this bill in order to provide the legal authorities and resources necessary to make this plan a reality,” Young said. “It’s time to make American ships again.”
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