"The depleted stockpiles resulting from the military support we provided to Ukraine are the most obvious example of our shortfalls. However, this comes on top of the ones inherited from past budget cuts and underinvestment," he wrote in a blog post.
"However, this comes on top of the ones inherited from past budget cuts and underinvestment."
Borrell argued that EU’s defense capabilities and military expenditure did not match the ones he claimed it needed to counter security threats at hand.
"From 1999 to 2021, EU combined defence spending increased only by 20% - against 66% for the US, 292% for Russia and 592% for China. Certainly, one have to take into account the starting level of the military capacities, but this figures show very different trends," he said.
The EU needs to rake up military spending to afford modern and interoperable armed forces and replenish their stockpiles, Borrell argued. He proposed augmenting military capabilities within the next five years, specifically air defenses, cyber and space-based ones.
In the longer term, Borrell said, EU members must focus on procuring and building weapons together, such as main battle tanks, advanced anti-access/area denial assets and space situational awareness equipment.