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The head of Germany’s largest defense contractor warned that European countries held talks on children’s tables due to decades of insufficient investment in defense.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said Europe was blamed on negotiations by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Ukrainian war.
“If you don’t invest, if you’re not strong, they’ll handle you like kids,” he told the Financial Times. “For the past 30 years, Europeans have been very convenient to say, OK, spend 1% [of GDP on defence],very good. ”
The consequence of this position, Papper said, is that Europeans are like children commissioned to a separate table, while the United States and Russia have discussions on the future of Ukraine.
“If parents have supper, the children have to sit at another table,” he said. He added to the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference: “The United States is negotiating with Russia, and there is no Europe present – it’s obvious that Europeans are children We.”
According to official data, between 2021 and 2024, total defence spending in EU countries increased by more than 30%, estimated to be 32.6 billion euros, accounting for about 1.9% of the group’s GDP.
Trump has put a lot of pressure on NATO members to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Papperger said when European leaders get rid of Trump’s decision to call Vladimir Putin and start “immediate” negotiations on a deal to end the Ukrainian war without consulting Europe Or Kiev.
As European leaders struggle to ensure the U.S. threatens to significantly reduce the security of the African continent after its support, the outspoken head of defense said that even in the case of a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, the region’s demand for weapons will also be expected. Stay strong.
“Europeans and Ukrainians don’t have anything in the warehouse,” he said.
Rheinmetallurgy shares have almost tripled since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, initially falling after Trump’s plans for peace talks announced last week.
But European defense stocks, including Rheinmetall, have gathered since then, as investors bet, governments in the region will have to increase military spending heavily in response to growing concerns about the U.S. retreat for decades as the country has been The role of mainland security guarantee.
Papperger, who is believed to be the target of Russia’s assassination plot last year, expressed doubts that Trump’s peaceful negotiations would actually lead to Russia’s “stop shooting.”
He said his company would benefit even if there was a ceasefire, as Europe would continue to invest in weapons as it faces threats from Russian aggression.
“Even if war [in Ukraine] Stop – If we think we have a very peaceful future, I think that’s wrong,” he said.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, spent about 2% of its domestically produced domestically produced GDP last year. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the coalition’s goal must be “bigly more than 3 percent.”
Papper said he hopes Germany’s next government quickly relaxes strict debt rules to achieve more defense spending even election leader Friedrich Merz ) formally committed to keeping it in place.
“I personally think this will happen, and it will happen immediately,” he said.
Stocks of European defense groups have soared since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and on Monday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance further uncertainty over the weekend’s commitment to ensuring security on the African continent.
Rheinmetallurgy has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of rising global insecurity. Papperger told the British League of Nations that he expects annual sales of €30 billion to €40 billion over the next five years – a sharp increase from the €5.7 billion before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
