While, according to a senior European official, European leaders are not expected to discuss European defence in depth at their European Council meeting on 19 March, they are nevertheless expected to call, in their conclusions, for an “acceleration of efforts to swiftly achieve defence readiness”.
In particular, the European Council should stress the importance of stepping up work on the priority capability areas identified at EU level and invite the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to take the necessary measures to implement the SAFE instrument and the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) as a matter of urgency.
The leaders should also invite the co-legislators to continue work on the proposal on military mobility. On Wednesday 18 March, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides hoped for a “general approach” to this proposal at the June Foreign Affairs Council meeting.
He should also invite the EU Council to update the common understanding of the threats and challenges facing the EU adopted in the 2022 ‘Strategic Compass’ on the basis of an exhaustive 360° analysis of threats at EU level. On 17 March, High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that an updated threat analysis should be ready by the end of April.
Finally, the European Council’s expectations regarding the continuation of efforts to combat hybrid attacks should also be reiterated.
Link to the latest draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/l8a (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)