The defence ministers of the EU Member States will meet in Brussels on Monday 1 December to discuss military support for Ukraine and the EU’s defence preparedness.
Ukraine. The ministers will first look at support for Ukraine, both now and in the event of a peace agreement, including security guarantees. They are expected to discuss options for financing military support to Ukraine, which could include repair loans.
An update could be given on the High Representative’s initiative on munitions. According to a European source, “more or less 80%” of the 2 million large-calibre munitions promised by the end of the year have actually been delivered.
The Council will also examine the strengthening of defence industrial cooperation between the EU and Ukraine.
Efforts against the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ could be mentioned. A few days ago, the foreign affairs ministers called on the EU to step up this fight (see EUROPE 13756/2). According to one European source, “all civilian and military means must be used to make the operations of the ‘shadow fleet’ more costly and more difficult, while ensuring full compliance with international law”. The EU wants to negotiate prior agreements for boarding vessels in the fleet and to strengthen synergies with NATO activities.
The EU High Representative will also take stock of the work in progress on the EU’s contribution to security guarantees for Ukraine.
The ministers will also hold talks with their Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, and NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska.
Preparedness. The Council will then examine EU defence preparedness. The ministers are expected to focus on the implementation of the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, adopted on 16 October 2025 (see EUROPE 13732/1) and on the Defence Package (proposal on military mobility and Roadmap for the transformation of the EU defence industry) presented by the Commission and the High Representative on 19 November (see EUROPE 13755/1, 13755/2).
In particular, they will discuss the work carried out in the nine priority capability areas and may also formulate recommendations and guidelines concerning the implementation of the Defence Readiness Roadmap.
No EU-UK agreement on SAFE. The Council is expected to discuss the implementation of the SAFE instrument at a time when the deadline for the official submission of applications has been set for 30 November 2025.
On Friday, negotiations continued on Canada’s participation in the instrument. “We hope to reach an agreement before Sunday”, i.e. the deadline, explained European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier on Friday.
On the same day, the United Kingdom announced that talks with the EU had broken down. “While it is disappointing that discussions on the UK’s participation in the first phase of SAFE could not be concluded, the UK defence industry will still be able to participate in projects through SAFE on the same terms and conditions that apply to third countries”, said UK Minister for Relations with the EU Nick Thomas-Symonds. “The negotiations took place in good faith, but our position has always been clear: we will only sign agreements that serve the national interest and offer good value for money”, he added. Discussions stalled over the amount of London’s financial contribution to SAFE. The EU’s latest offer was for a contribution of €2 billion (compared with €6.75 billion at the start of the negotiations), whereas the British only wanted to contribute a few hundred million euros.
EDA. Following the Council, the European Defence Agency (EDA) Management Board will meet and is expected to discuss ways of strengthening the EDA, as requested by the October European Council (see EUROPE 13736/3). The Board is expected to discuss the Agency’s budget for 2026, the workforce plan and the three-year planning framework. The ministers will also examine a summary of proposals for projects to develop collaborative capabilities in the medium and long term. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)