Panorama 17.10.2025

Euranet Plus Panorama is a weekly news review that showcases our network’s wide-ranging coverage of EU-related stories.

Radio România, 20.10.2025, 18:03

Commission ready to roll on defence readiness

VDL’s ‘Defence Readiness Roadmap’ sets out concrete milestones for achieving defence readiness by 2030. Because, says the Commission chief, “only what gets measured gets done”.

The College of Commissioners got their first taste of the roadmap on Thursday (16 October), after it had been discussed with defence ministers at Wednesday’s Foreign Affairs Council.

Collaboration is key

With defence hitherto a purely national domain, one of the aims of the roadmap is to get member states working together – in particular, to facilitate the joint procurement of weapons, with a view to keeping prices down and improving interoperability. Defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius tells us more.

Andrius Kubilius, European Commission for Defence and Space (in English):

“As an example, incentivisation for joint procurement can cut prices for defence production by 30 per cent. The plan is to increase joint procurement from 20 per cent to 40 per cent by the end of 2027. Taking into account all defence investment up to 2035, this can save up to 200 billion euros for national governments and taxpayers.”

The Commission’s shiny new plan also sets rising targets for arms purchases from EU and Ukrainian companies, as these players gradually step up their production.

Ricardo Rio is the Portuguese rapporteur for the European Committee of the Regions’ opinion on the Commission’s readiness roadmap.

In a recent interview with Renascença, he highlights the Committee’s support for strengthening EU defence through industry, as well as the importance of involving local and regional authorities in implementing this policy.

Ricardo Rio, Member of the European Committee of the Regions (in Portuguese):

“When we talk about defence policy, we are talking about a whole range of products, services, technologies and infrastructure that can be essential to ensuring our defence against external threats, but which do not necessarily have to be strictly military in nature. There are still many barriers in this sector to the trade of products within Europe. And one of the things that is fundamental, if we want to create a true defence industry at European level, is that member states can streamline trade – the exchange of products and, obviously, their components – so that this added value remains on European soil. This could lead to smart specialisation, where each region could look to take advantage of industries that currently have other focuses, but which could also be put to use in the defence sector.”

Filling capability gaps in nine key areas is a priority of the readiness roadmap. These include air and missile defence, drones and anti-drone systems, and AI and cybersecurity. A further area of focus involves encouraging EU countries to collaborate on a number of flagship projects, both existing and pipeline. The Eastern Flank Watch – a plan to fortify the bloc’s Eastern border – and the European Drone Defence Initiative, for example.

Brussels is committing to helping to mobilise up to 800 billion euros for defence spending. Some of this money is accounted for in existing instruments, such as the EU’s recently adopted SAFE programme. Other funds are yet to be pinned down, including, of course, the bloc’s post-2027 budget, for which negotiations are now underway.

All this said, the Commission insists that national governments will remain firmly in control of their national defence, and that the EU will continue to coordinate closely with NATO.

Our colleagues at Skai Radio interview Vassilis Nedos, a well-respected Greek defence commentator. Does he think that this new defence readiness plan has teeth, or is it just another piece of paper?

Vassilis Nedos, Defence and Diplomacy Commentator (in Greek):

“I think it’s a document that could be translated into action, but everyone must agree on its direction. First, politically, do we want an anti-drone protection model that is mainly European? Will American companies have a say in it? Will the Israelis participate, since Greece is already cooperating extensively with Israel in defence? And then geography: will it be, as Europeans say, a ‘360-degree approach’ or rather a patchwork initially focused on the eastern flank, with the rest to follow? Once these questions are answered, we’ll be able to see how realistically this document can be implemented.”

Drones on the EU’s radar

Yes, Europe is certainly on the alert regarding drone incursions, after repeated violations of European airspace have led to airport closures and growing concern about hybrid threats.

Making reference to the ‘European Drone Wall’, which was recently proposed by the Commission to better protect Eastern Europe, Nedos highlights Europe’s inability to counter what are relatively cheap threats in anything other than an extremely expensive way.

Vassilis Nedos, Defence and Diplomacy Commentator (in Greek):

“[We] urgently need to find cheap and effective solutions to these problems; some might call them threats. Because when a drone appears over an airport, considering how civil aviation services operate across Europe, quite apart from the practical side of things, there is not even a clear legal framework for handling such threats, problems and malfunctions. A framework must first be created to define how these threats are dealt with, and then we should look at what can actually be done in practice. So, we’re talking about low-cost technological solutions that already exist in European industry.”

At the Commission’s presentation on Thursday, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, highlighted the importance of investing in counter-drone systems without delay.

Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (in English):

“Drones are already redefining warfare. Having drone defences is no longer optional for anyone. Today, we propose a new anti-drone system to be fully operational by the end of 2027. This will be done, of course, in close cooperation with NATO. Every country is at risk. Every member state should be investing in counter drone systems. […] Eastern Europe bears the brunt of the threat, and this needs particular attention. The Eastern Flank Watch will bring all the capabilities needed to defend this part of Europe together. Counter-drone systems, but also ground defence, air defences, maritime, and border management. The goal is to have this ready by 2028.”

Indeed, near the Romanian coastal city of Constanţa, the expansion of what is likely to become NATO’s largest base on the EU’s southeastern flank is well underway, with air policing of the region being carried out by Germany, Romania, the UK and other allied forces.

Bulgarian National Radio speaks to Simona Cojocaru, director of defence policy at the Romanian Ministry of National Defence, about the strategic importance of this area.

Simona Cojocaru, Romania’s Director of Defence Policy (in English):

“The Black Sea is actually not a distant frontier. We have to be very much aware, as Europeans, if you like, and also at the EU-Atlantic level, about the strategic centre that is the Black Sea today. We are very much confronted with threats and risks, from conventional ones to hybrid ones, and we have to take action at all levels. At NATO level, we are very much investing in deterrence and defence in the Black Sea. But most recently, the EU adopted a strategy or an approach towards the Black Sea with a central point dedicated to setting up a maritime hub. […] We are also witnessing some efforts dedicated to a drone wall.”

A European army?

In June, the European Movement – a pan-European network that works to promote peace, democracy and integration in Europe – conducted an opinion poll on a common European defence policy. The survey was carried out in seven EU member states (Germany, France, Poland, Romania, Italy, Spain and Sweden) and found that 56 per cent of respondents were in favour of establishing a shared European military under common leadership.

Hervé Moritz, president of the European Movement in France, tells euradio that his organisation was surprised by the scale of public support for this idea, which has been floating around ever since the early days of European integration.

So, our French colleagues ask, what does he think has changed?

Hervé Moritz, President of the European Movement – France (in French):

“Today, we are in an international context in which Europeans are concerned about the situation both in Europe and in the world, with the international order being called into question by several major world powers. And then, of course, there is the war in Ukraine, which rages on. This makes it clear that war has returned to the European continent and that the peaceful project that the European project has long been can in no way ensure peace at the EU’s borders today. So we must build this peace. We have to build this European security architecture. And in order to build it, we need a credible common defence.”

And the European Movement does have a view on what this credible common defence structure might look like, as Moritz goes on to explain.

Hervé Moritz, President of the European Movement – France (in French):

“Our idea is to put together a formation of 60,000 men and women who could intervene rapidly as part of operations ordered by the European Union. Such an intervention force was already planned at the end of the ’90s. […] Today, the EU is more or less capable of mobilising 5,000 troops. So we’re still a long way off 60,000. We are proposing to move forward in the next few years to be able to mobilise those men and women who already form part of their national armies, but who could be seconded, or in any case trained, to act within a common European force. And this is what’s essential: preparing Europe’s troops to intervene collectively.”

So, let’s return to Vassilis Nedos, our Greek expert. Do you, Skai asks him, see the creation of a true European defence in the foreseeable future?

Vassilis Nedos, Defence and Diplomacy Commentator (in Greek):

“No, I don’t. Right now, EU defence remains an area of minimal coordination – the lowest common denominator among member states. Each country keeps its national particularities and priorities at the forefront, which makes it hard to move toward a genuine common European defence. To achieve that, the EU would need either a treaty change or to shift to qualified majority decisions, something that we call ‘flexicurity’ – and something that member states may not want. Greece, I believe, would not feel entirely comfortable with that. Let’s remember that in the first stage of the SAFE programme, Turkey has been allowed to participate.”

Widening our defence horizons

While defence ministers were in discussions in Brussels on Wednesday, there was a parallel debate underway in the German Bundestag.

During this debate, Florian Hahn, minister of state at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, said that a solid financial commitment was required to build resilience and to upgrade critical defence infrastructure. And not just the most obvious land, air and sea infrastructure, either. No, Germany – and Europe – must also expand their capacity for action in space. AMS reports.

Florian Hahn, Minister of State at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (in German):

“The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has made it clear how crucial satellite-based infrastructure is for communications, reconnaissance and navigation. Satellite networks are now central to the functioning of our modern societies. If they fail, entire states can be paralysed, with major unforeseeable consequences for our society, economy and security. At the same time, it has shown how vulnerable these infrastructures are, for example, to targeted disruptions and cyberattacks on satellites. Russia and China have recently massively expanded their military space capabilities and developed capabilities to disrupt, manipulate or destroy satellites, as well as in reconnaissance and espionage. Space is therefore not just a place of technological innovation, but a strategic field of action with growing significance in terms of security policy.”

He need not worry, though, as a Defence Space Shield also forms part of the Commission’s readiness roadmap.

EU leaders will be asked to greenlight the proposal at next week’s European Council.