Building a common European defence policy in troubled times

Twenty years ago this July, the European Defence Agency (EDA) was set up to help Member States develop their military capabilities. Since then, the EDA has established itself as the main coordination platform available to European armies. Today, this is needed more than ever. Power politics are reshaping the world. ‘Classical’ high intensity wars are back in our immediate neighbourhood and at the same time new hybrid ones are developing, targeting us directly. Europe is in danger and we must boost European defence. And we need the EDA to succeed.

The war of aggression against Ukraine has shown how much Europe’s defence and the European defence industry have been weakened by thirty years of ‘silent disarmament’ after the fall of the Berlin wall. With the Strategic Compass, adopted two years ago, we have a roadmap for catching up and EU Member States are already spending significantly more on defence recently, with a 40% increase in defence budgets over the last 10 years and a €50 billion jump between 2022 and 2023.

Nevertheless, the €290 billion EU defence budget in 2023 represents only 1.7% of our GDP, below the 2% NATO benchmark that should, in the current geopolitical context, be seen as a minimum requirement. Also, we are still investing too little together, with only 18% of EU Member States’ defence procurement done in a collaborative manner. At the same time, our defence industry still lacks capacity, both quantitatively and qualitatively: since the beginning of the war against Ukraine nearly 80 % of our military equipment has been bought outside Europe.

We have still a long way to go to make up for these shortfalls and we have to cover it in a very short time. However, boosting European defence does not mean building a European army. Defence is and will remain for the foreseeable future an exclusive competence of EU Member States. European defence policy is about a much closer cooperation between EU Member States. This endeavour has not been without difficulties over the past decades. We have had regularly heated debates about ‘strategic autonomy’ and the link between EU defence policy and NATO.

But these debates are now behind us. Since the war of aggression against Ukraine, everyone in Europe recognises that NATO remains more essential than ever to ensure the continent’s security, particularly after Sweden and Finland joined the organisation. At the same time, however, all Europeans are now also fully aware that America’s commitment to Europe’s security could become more uncertain for the future, and that it is absolutely essential to build a strong European pillar within NATO. The time has come for us to ultimately take our ‘strategic responsibility’ for Europe’s security.

We need, in particular, to cooperate much more closely on armaments. To use our defence resources in an efficient way, we need to fill gaps in our capacities, avoid duplications and increase interoperability. As I have already said on many occasions, we need to spend more but above all better. And better means together. We also need to spend more together as Europeans and boost our defence industry’s capacity.

We have already developed some joint initiatives in the past, with the Franco-Italian multi-purpose frigates, the Eurofighter combat aircraft, the NH90 and Tiger helicopters and the A400M transport aircraft. But we need many more of such common projects. EDA’s role could be crucial to succeed in this endeavour. With almost 200 expert staff managing nearly 100 capability development and research projects, EDA is already a powerful catalyst to promote collaboration among Member States.

EDA has already helped develop the national naval surveillance network MARSUR, multinational helicopter training, the EU Satellite Communications Market, the safe emergency landings of drones, and aided the development of a European strategic tanker capability. It is also helping boost cross-border research and innovation through the Hub for Defence Innovation (HEDI). To help deliver more ammunition to Ukraine, the Agency in Brussels also organised common purchasing of shells.

Last May, we presented Member States with a list of new possible collaborative projects and we have reinforced the Agency’s mandate in agreement with the 27 EU Defence Ministers. We urgently need to move beyond national silos to boost Europe’s defence and provide our citizens with the security they deserve. I am convinced that the European Defence Agency will play an essential part in this endeavour in coming years.