The Future of the European Defence
By in
As Brussels unveils its first European Defence Industrial Strategy, throws €150 billion in EIB-backed SAFE loans on the table and pushes a continent-wide rail standard for troop mobility, Europe finally matches urgency with cash. Yet every euro depends on 27 divergent treasuries, parliaments and procurement habits. Germany and Poland cheer joint orders; France, Italy and Spain wince at fresh debt; smaller states fret about “Buy European” clauses. Meanwhile the United States, China and Russia outspend the EU by wide margins. Let’s analyse the current state of the European defence process.
By eEuropa – 7 MINUTES READ
Brussels, May 26, 2025 – Three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is adding hard cash and concrete steps to its promise of “strategic autonomy”.
Since February, EU has proposed a new industrial policy for arms makers, launched a €150 billion loan scheme for joint procurement and—more quietly—issued the first dual-use rail standard so troops can travel with their kit across 27 countries.
Yet the effort still divides capitals and their parliaments, and it is happening against an arms-spending race led by the United States, China, Russia and India.
Let’s look at the EU’s six latest moves to strengthen European Defence.
1. European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS)
Unveiled on 5 March 2024 the Joint Commuication “A new European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS)“ is the first joint blueprint from the European Commission and the High Representative, working with the European Defence Agency (EDA), aimed at boosting Europe’s defence-industrial base through to 2035. War in Ukraine forced the EU to treat “high-intensity warfare” as a real possibility on its own soil. EDIS answers that wake-up call by outlining how the Union can raise its industrial readiness and cut its dependence on non-EU kit. Strategic lines of EDIS
a. Strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) – Steer national budgets towards collaborative, EU-made projects and expand common financing tools such as the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), initially budgeted at €1.5 billion for 2025-27.