Weapons Maker Patria Urges Europe to Unite on Buying Arms

European policymakers should make weapons funding available only to those nations that agree to buy arms together as the region boosts its defense spending, according to the leader of Finnish defense company Patria Oyj.

Doing so would help overcome a key hurdle — the fragmentation of its weapons systems, Chief Executive Officer Esa Rautalinko said in an interview. Putting limitations on its joint financial tools, such as only giving access to countries signing up to multinational procurement processes, or creating other such incentives, would ensure more systems are compatible, he said.