The new EU document from Brussels essentially consists of two pillars: the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) outlines a long-term vision and strategy for the defence industry in Europe. To implement this strategy, EDIS is complemented by a “European Defence Industry Programme” (EDIP) and describes a framework for the timely delivery and availability of defence equipment. Just as the USA, particularly under former President Donald Trump, is promoting a “Buy American” strategy, the Commission is indirectly calling on its member states to “Buy European”. EDIS is a joint communication programme that depends on the perception of each individual EU member state. This will become more visible in the current negotiations on the Commission’s EDIP proposal. However, the European Commission’s goal is already crystal clear: the sustainable strengthening of the European defence industry. The 31-page document presents an action plan to enable the member states to achieve the political goal. The planned measures and actions include, among other things, the following:

1. Promoting demand in the defence sector. This measure will be based on existing initiatives such as the Capability Development Plan (CDP) and the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).
2. Ensuring the availability of all defence equipment. Investments by member states and the European defence industry in the market and launch of modern technologies.
3. Establishing a “culture of defence readiness” in all policy areas.
4. Developing closer relations with the Ukraine and its defence industry.
5. Intensify cooperation with NATO and strategically like-minded partners and develop closer cooperation with the Ukraine.

The EDIS strategy defines a number of indicators so that the progress made by the Member States can also be measured. The states in the EU are called upon to achieve three specific goals:

Firstly, at least 40 percent of defence equipment shall be procured cooperatively by 2030.
Secondly, intra-EU trade in defence equipment shall account for at least 35 percent of the EU defence market in value terms by 2030.
Thirdly, EU member states shall steadily move towards the target of spending at least 50 percent of their defence procurement budget within the EU by 2030 and increasing this share to 60 percent by 2035.

The second pillar of the EU document is the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). As a new legislative initiative, it will build a bridge between short-term emergency measures, adopted in 2023 and expiring in 2025, and a more structured and longer-term approach to future industrial readiness in the defence sector. EDIP will mobilise for financial resources totalling €1.5 billion to be made available from the EU budget between 2025 and 2027 to improve competitiveness.

EDIP is derived from three existing initiatives and combines them with each other: the European Defence Fund (EDF) in the area of research and development (RD), the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) in the area of production ramp up and the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) in the area of joint procurement.

Evaluation of the political initiative

The strategy to strengthen the European defence industry is to be considered as an urgently needed political initiative, which some observers believe is long overdue. The short EDIP period (2025-2027) and the low level of funding of just €1.5 billion have also been criticised. Will this really be enough? Even if the significant budget increases of the EU member states must also be taken into account, it is generally known that €1.5 billion will not achieve much in Europe. The decisive factor is that the Commission wants to use this pilot project to institutionalise its policy for the European defence industry in a more extensive follow-up programme in the long term.

And yet, wishful thinking and reality seem to diverge at this point. Anyone who wants to be at the forefront of international competition with the USA, Japan and China should be “chomping at the bit and not fiddling about at the edges”. For example, at the presentation of the industrial strategy, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell cited two figures that once again highlight the difference between the USA and Europe. According to Borrell, the US Department of Defence spent €215 billion on weapons and ammunition in 2022. In contrast, the 27 EU states only spent around €58 billion. This comparison illustrates the difference between a world power like the USA and the EU, which is indeed acknowledged as an economic global player, but will probably still need a few more years to be respected as a united political world power.