Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania, Russia's neighbor, has been tapped to boost the continent's arms industry, by getting EU countries to spend more on European weapons and procure them jointly – as well as by getting companies themselves to cooperate more across borders.

The new post reflects how security has risen to the top of the EU's political agenda since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"Defense ministers and NATO generals agree that Vladimir Putin could be ready for confrontation with NATO and the EU in 6-8 years," Kubilius, a fierce critic of Russia and a supporter of Ukraine, said on Wednesday.

"If we take these assessments seriously, then that is the time for us to properly prepare, and it is a short one. This means we have to take quick decisions, and ambitious decisions," he said.

Kubilius said his first job as a commissioner would be to explore, jointly with EU top diplomat nominee Kaja Kallas, what resources the European Union needs to be ready for a military challenge. He is aiming to complete an exploratory study within the first 100 days.

He said underinvestment of more than a trillion euros in the decade since the financial crisis meant the European defense industry was in an "unsatisfactory condition".

Kubilius faces an uphill battle against several EU governments which are deeply wary of giving Brussels a say in how they organize their defense industries.

The European Commission has no legal mandate to formulate defense policies, and EU countries coordinate their defense through NATO.

"The European Union won't have defense plans or military leadership, like NATO does - but the European Union has instruments to get larger financing, which NATO doesn't," Kubilius said.

He suggested issuing joint defense bonds, using funds from the European post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility or tapping the European Investment Bank as options to fund defense industry expansion.