"For example, the defense industry will take time to ramp up. Right now we have about five to eight years to catch up in the military, industry and society," Pistorius told Welt, adding that in the next ten years, the US will show more interest in the Pacific region rather than in Europe, and therefore Europeans themselves need to become more involved in ensuring security in the region.
When asked whether Europe is preparing for the "worst-case scenario", in which it is the Europeans who will have to compensate Kiev for the assistance that may no longer come from the US, the minister said that the EU is discussing such a case.
The EU has been trying to reach an agreement on 20 billion euros in military support for Ukraine and intends to include another 50 billion euros in the EU budget to provide macro-financial assistance to Kiev over the next four years. However, the plans have faced opposition from some member states, mainly from Hungary.