The Commission and the High Representative have presented a White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030 on 19 March 2025. The Commission has also presented, as part of the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030, an ambitious defence package providing financial levers to EU Member States to drive an investment surge in defence capabilities.
While the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 strengthens pan-European defence capabilities with new financial means, the White Paper frames a new approach to defence and identifies investment needs. The Commission also adopted a Communication on Accommodating increased defence expenditure within the Stability and Growth Pact.
- White paper for European defence - Readiness 2030
The white paper offers solutions to strengthen the defence industry by closing important gaps and ensuring long-term readiness. It also suggests ways for Member States to invest heavily in defence, buy necessary equipment, and support the industry’s growth over time.
- Security Action for Europe - SAFE Regulation
A new financial instrument that will help countries invest in key defence areas like missile defence, drones, and cyber security. The funds will be raised on capital markets and disbursed to interested Member States upon demand, based on national plans. SAFE will encourage Member States to spend better, together and European.
- Increase defence expenditure within the Stability and Growth Pact
The Commission has invited Member States to activate the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, which will provide them additional budgetary space to increase their defence spending, within the EU fiscal rules.
- Background
The political guidelines of President von der Leyen announced a new approach to strengthen the EU’s defence industry. The White paper for European defence - Readiness 2030 helps shape this approach by identifying investment needs and promoting smarter, joint spending to build EU defence capabilities.
The Paper complements key reports, including the ‘Niinistö Report’ on strengthening EU’s civil and military preparedness and readiness, the Draghi report, and the upcoming Preparedness Union Strategy.
EUROPEAN READINESS 2030
To best answer to this radically changed strategic context, three lines of action should guide the EU and its Member States towards readiness 2030:
- Urgently closing critical capability gaps and supporting the EU defence industry, including through simplification of legislation and easing of administrative burden, to be able to produce at the requested speed and volume. This will also provide enhanced support for Ukraine.
- Preparing the defence of tomorrow by building a true EU-wide market for defence and accelerating the transformation of defence through disruptive innovation.
- Ensure readiness by 2030 for the worst extreme military contingencies, including through stockpiling, facilitating rapid movement of troops and assets across the Union and cooperation.
The need for a European approach:
The EU complements and multiplies Member States’ individual efforts. Regardless of the format chosen by Member States, undertaking collaborative projects will enhance coordination, thus generating economies of scale and improving delivery timelines. In turn, this will boost the production capacity of European defence industry.
The EU is bringing value-added by:
- facilitating greater collaboration and efficient scale for the European defence industry in developing, producing and marketing weapons systems,
- facilitating efficiencies, interchangeability and interoperability, lowering costs by avoiding competitive purchasing and improving purchasing power for Member States, while helping to generate stability and predictability with multi-year industrial demand.
- supporting dual-use infrastructure for mobility and space-based communications, navigation, and observation.
- enabling partnerships.
Closing the Gaps
The European Council on European defence on 6 March 2025, allowed EU member States to identify a list of Critical Defence Capability Areas for action at EU. These 7 areas encompass:
- Air and missile defence: Integrated shield against all air threats (missiles, aircraft, UAS) with NATO C2 integration
- Artillery systems: Advanced fire systems with modern artillery and long-range precision missile capabilities
- Ammunition and missiles: Strategic stockpiles with sufficient industrial capacity for timely replenishment
- Drones and counter-drone systems: Comprehensive unmanned fleet (air, ground, surface, underwater) with autonomous capabilities
- Military Mobility: EU-wide transport network enabling rapid movement of troops and equipment
- AI, Quantum, Cyber & Electronic Warfare: Advanced systems for electromagnetic spectrum control and cyber operations
- Strategic enablers and protection: Including strategic airlift, air-to-air refueling, maritime awareness, combat capabilities, and border security
To bridge these critical capability gaps, the Commission will foster the implementation of collaborative projects, as it will allow for cost-efficiency, economies of scale, interoperability and shorter delivery time.
Next step:
Swiftly enhance collaborative defense procurement to achieve the 40% target set by the European Defence Industry Strategy (EDIS) using the SAFE instrument.
Military Mobility and Infrastructure
Military mobility is key to European security and supporting Ukraine, ensuring fast movement of troops and equipment across the EU during crises. Despite progress, bureaucratic challenges and inconsistent procedures, like customs, disrupt efficient military transport.
Next step:
The EU will adopt a Joint Communication on Military Mobility, accompanied by the necessary legislative proposals, by the end of 2025.
- To strengthen our defence and support Ukraine, the EU needs to:
- Simplify regulations and prioritize military access to transport networks.
- Invest urgently in four critical corridors for efficient troop movements.
- Increase availability of dual-use transport assets through joint procurement and industry collaboration.
- In addition, the Commission aims to:
- Review and streamline existing regulations.
- Upgrade essential dual-use infrastructure.
- Remove obstacles hindering military transport.
Strategic stockpiles and Readiness pools
Supporting Ukraine
Rebuilding European defence begins in providing military support to Ukraine to be able to defend itself. Therefore, the most pressing priority is to increase and maintain support to Kyiv through three main lines of action:
Enhancing military support to Ukraine and other form of assistance, in line with the EU’s security commitments and the High Representative’s Initiative for Ukraine. This includes enhancing the provision of ammunition, air defence, drones and direct support to Ukraine’s defence industry, as well as we provision of enhanced access to space services.
Proposing the association of Ukraine into EU initiatives aimed at the development of defence capabilities. This includes inviting Ukraine to share its defence priorities and operational needs for incorporation in the EU’s capability development priorities, a possible expansion of the European Defence Agency Administrative Arrangement with Ukraine, and encouraging participation of Ukraine into EU initiatives, including the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence.
Integration of the Ukrainian defence industry into the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, including through the adoption and implementation of the Ukraine Support Instrument under EDIP and the scale up ofEU Defence Innovation Office. Furthermore, The EU will establish an EU- UA Task Force to coordinate and reinforce the work already done by existing bodies (i.e. EU Military Staff Clearing House Cell, Ukraine Defence Contact Group) and promote greater industrial cooperation.
Next steps:
Agreement on an ambitious new military support initiative for Ukraine, including artillery, air defence, and training.
Integration of Ukraine's defence industry into the Single Market and extend military mobility corridors while exploring access to EU space-based services.
Supporting European Defence Industry
The EU defence industry lacks scale production capacity, it remains fragmented with dominant national players in small markets and cannot fully leverage the Single Market.
The White Paper identifies several strategic lines of action to support the European Defence industry:
- Aggregated demand to ramp up defence industrial production capacity
- Fostering a more systematic aggregation of Member States demand
- Strengthening the dialogue with industry
- Reducing dependencies and ensuring security of supply
- Observatory of Critical Technologies to identify materials and develop roadmaps
- Diversify supply sources while developing European alternatives
- Building a true EU-wide market for defence, simplifying and harmonising rules
- Create one of the largest global defence markets to enhance competitiveness, enable cross-border collaboration, and allow startups to scale
- Focus on procurement, transfers, certification, and permit procedures
- By June 2025: the Commission will present a Defence Omnibus Simplification proposal
- Transforming defence through disruptive innovation
- Support for advanced manufacturing processes and AI integration
- Create favourable regulatory environment for defence tech investment
- The EU will present a European Armament Technological Roadmap
- Skills and talent to innovate
- A large-scale defence industrial ramp-up will require industry to attract, train, employ, up- and reskill far more talents
- Build expertise in STEM, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, and computing
As surge in defence spending
The ReARM Europe Plan has been presented by President Von der Leyen ahead of the EUCO on 6 March and was fully supported by Member States.
It creates the conditions for the massive defence investment surge in Europe, with up to EUR 800 bn of additional defence expenditures expected in the upcoming years. The real amount of additional funding will depend on the willingness by Member States to mobilise additional resources. It builds on several pillars:
- Proposal to activate the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact to support Member States’ public funding in defence. Up to 1,5% of GDP, additional defence expenditures. Covering both investment and expenditures, for at least 4 years. This is expected to leverage up to EUR 650 billion across EU Member States.
- SAFE - Security Action for Europe: A new financial EU instrument to support Member States in boosting their defence investments (under Article 122 of the TFEU: allows exceptional response to exceptional circumstances). EU will raise funds up to a EUR 150 billion and provide loans to Member States for them to support achieving a rapid and significant increase in investment in Europe's defence capabilities.
- The plan also aims at mobilising private capital (including to accelerate the emergence of new defence players) by accelerating the Savings and Investments Union and through the European Investment Bank.
WAY FOWARD
- By the end of April
Activation the National Escape Clause by Member states
- Before summer
European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and Ukraine Support Instrument (USI) validated co-legislator
- By March 2025
Fund reallocation for defence and security through the European Regional Development Fund
- By June 2025
Defence Omnibus Simplification proposal
- In 2025
European Armament Technological Roadmap for dual-use technology investments.
- By the end of 2025
Joint Communication on Military Mobility with legislative proposals.
Useful links
- Press release
- Communication on Accommodating defence expenditure
- Regulation establishing the Security Action for Europe (SAFE)
- Questions and answers on the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030
- Questions and answers on the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030
- Factsheet on the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030
- Factsheet on the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030
- Audiovisual material