European leaders are expected to call on the EU to accelerate the mobilisation of the necessary instruments and funding “in order to bolster the security of the European Union and the protection of our citizens”, at their extraordinary European Council meeting on 6 March.
According to the draft conclusions of 27 February, obtained by Agence Europe, the European Council is expected to stress the need for Member States to continue to substantially increase their defence spending. According to a European source, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is due to publish a letter on defence funding options next Tuesday, ahead of the meeting. According to the draft conclusions, the European Council should invite the Commission to recommend “without delay” a way forward on the use of the flexibilities in the Stability and Growth Pact to facilitate significant defence spending at national level. The Commission should also propose additional sources of funding for defence at EU level, “including by means of additional flexibility in the use of structural funds, and to present swiftly relevant proposals”.
The Heads of State or Government will reportedly ask the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to adapt the EIB’s lending practices to the defence industry “as a matter of urgency”, in particular “by re-evaluating the list of excluded activities”.
In the longer term, the European Council is calling on the Commission to take account of defence priorities when designing the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
In addition to funding, European leaders are expected to identify air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and munitions, drones and anti-drone systems, strategic tools and the protection of critical infrastructures, including in relation to space, military mobility, cybernetics, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare as priority areas for action in the field of capabilities at EU level.
Stressing the importance of more systematic use of aggregation of demand, harmonisation of requirements and joint procurement to reduce overall costs, ensure standardisation and interoperability and give predictability to European industry, leaders should invite the European Defence Agency to rapidly put in place appropriate processes to this end.
The leaders will also reportedly call on the co-legislators to conclude negotiations on the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) “as soon as possible”. One year after its presentation by the Commission (see EUROPE 13364/2), EDIP is still the subject of negotiations between the Member States, and discussions have not yet officially begun in the European Parliament.
The Commission and the co-legislators should also be invited to simplify the legal and administrative framework, particularly as regards public procurement, “in order to address all obstacles and bottlenecks hindering a rapid ramping up of the defence industry”. “In this context, the European Council invites the Commission to prioritise a defence-specific simplification omnibus”, the draft conclusions state.
Finally, recalling that a stronger and more capable European Union in the field of security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, the European Council is expected to invite those Member States which are also members of NATO to coordinate with a view to the NATO Summit in June 2025. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)