Latest news

New EDA Head Kallas calls for EU Single Market for defence

The European Union must bind its defence industry close together and develop weapons systems collaboratively, the new Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA), High Representative Kaja Kallas, told the 2025 EDA Annual Conference. She also called for the Agency to do more. 

“We need to consolidate our defence industry and develop common weapons systems,” Kallas said. “Our European defence industry could then utilise the same military systems and help Member States’ militaries become more interoperable ... the EU should also work towards establishing a Single Market for Defence.”

Kallas said that the EU does not require a single European armed force but rather 27 militaries capable of working together to deter and defend against any threat, particularly from Russia. Addressing over 400 participants at the Concert Noble in Brussels and more than 800 online attendees, Kallas’ vision reinforced the EDA’s mission as it leads Europe’s response to renewed security challenges.

In her first major policy speech since taking office in December, Kallas warned that the time for papers and declarations had passed. “Russia’s defence industry is churning out tanks, artillery shells, and glide bombs faster than we can match. This is a heavily militarised country, spending over a third of its national budget on the military, three times what it spent before the war. We must be realistic about the scale of this threat,” she said.

Sławomir Wojciechowski, Poland’s Military Representative to NATO and the EU Military Committee, speaking on behalf of Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said that: “For Europe, Russia's aggressive policy poses a real and direct threats to security. We must remember that Russia's objectives are not limited to Ukraine. A hypothetical victory for Moscow in Ukraine will be equivalent to the disintegration of the existing security architecture.” 2025_01_22-EDA-72 Cropped

Support to Ukraine and links to U.S., Britain

Kallas noted that the EU has so far provided €134 billion in support to Ukraine, including €50 billion in military aid. Additionally, the EU has trained 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers and imposed sanctions. “The Ukrainians are not just fighting for their freedom; they are defending ours too,” Kallas said. Collaboration with the United States and Britain remains essential, Kallas said, adding that the EU should be open to a new security agreement with London, now that Britain is outside the bloc.

General Brieger, Chairman of the EU Military Committee, told the conference: "For future success, we have to transform three levels in parallel: institutionally at the EU level; nationally, at the level of Member States; and in our mindset, on a personal level. For sure, this has to be coordinated to become, more and more, a real union of defence." 

Both Kallas and EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý, who opened the conference, underlined that NATO remains the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security. However, both stressed that the EU must ensure it can act decisively and independently if necessary. The EDA is instrumental in achieving this goal, Šedivý said. He said: “Over the past decade, the amount of projects we manage has grown from around 200 million euros to over one billion euros per year.”  

By fostering defence integration, it helps Member States pool resources, enhance interoperability, and address critical capability gaps in areas such as air defence, long-range missiles, and military mobility. 

“If Europeans don’t get serious about defence, there will be no Europe as we know it left to defend,” Kallas warned.