Europe Must Switch Arms Production to ‘War Mode’ to Match Russia, Polish Defense Minister Says

Europe should move into “war mode” in terms of arms production to keep up with Russia, Poland’s defense minister has said. 

Russia is already producing arms in war mode, and Europe cannot “stay asleep” at a time when the period of peace has ended and the continent must “prepare to defend our civilization,” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday.  

Russia spent an estimated 7.5% of its GDP on military expenditure in 2025, according to an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and produced around seven million artillery, mortar, tank and rocket munitions, data from the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service show.  

By contrast, the total defense spending of all EU member states last year was estimated at 2.2% of combined GDP, according to a leaked EU report cited by Euronews.  

The same report puts expected ammunition production by all 27 EU member states plus Norway at two million artillery shells this year.  

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Speaking at a joint press conference with EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, Kosiniak-Kamysz made the case for ramping up Europe’s defense industry capacity now to prevent greater costs later.  

The defense minister said Warsaw is pushing for increased defense and security spending in the EU budget, describing current proposals by the Irish presidency as “unacceptable” to Poland.  

“I understand that Ireland is a neutral country, situated far away on an island, and does not feel these threats [from Russia], but the role of the presidency is to hear the voice of those who do feel the threats, and our strong voice,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that the issue had formed the starting point of his talks with Kubilius. 

Ireland, which holds the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, presented a budget proposal for 2028–2034 on Saturday that foresees an 8% cut in expenditure compared with the European Commission’s plan and trims the broader competitiveness, prosperity and security budget heading by around 13%.  

Kosiniak-Kamysz pointed out that under Kubilius, EU-level defense financing had “grown radically,” but said it must be increased further, arguing that the “time has come” for Europe to multiply its defense production, as failure to do so would not only cost more in the future but also affect the prospects of future generations. 

“Poland has already been through this,” he said. “So we know what we’re talking about.”