Europe’s defence is under growing strain as Russian aggression intensifies and US reliability wavers, exposing the EU’s heavy dependence on external security guarantees. Record spending has not overcome fragmented procurement, depleted stockpiles, or slow support for Ukraine, while divisions persist over how fast — and how far — Europe should rearm and integrate.
Europe’s defence is straining under the double weight of Russian aggression and American retrenchment. The need to rebuild military muscle is no longer in question. But the bloc remains divided over how, how far, and on what terms its rearmament should proceed. Our policy report traces those tensions.
The Parliament’s Peder Schaefer examines the reality of Europe’s defence dependence, where record military spending has only deepened reliance on US weapons and NATO command structures.
In the opinion section, contributors lay out competing visions for Europe’s path forward. MEP Rihards Kols (ECR, LV) argues the EU must rearm with urgency, warning that depleted stockpiles, sluggish procurement and delayed support for Ukraine are symptoms of a historical failure to take security seriously. But MEP Christophe Gomart (EPP, FR) cautions against attempts to build a ‘single defence market,’ insisting that applying single-market logic to defence would confuse sovereignty with commerce.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview, EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius tells The Parliament’s Federica Di Sario why member states need to break the deadlock over frozen Russian assets, warning that inaction risks shifting the financial burden on to European taxpayers, leaving Ukraine – and Europe – exposed.
— Carl-Johan Karlsson, News & Features Editor