The European Defense Industrial Strategy: Moving the EU Closer to Strategic Autonomy
The MOC
By
Commander Augusto Conte de los Rios, Spanish Navy
May 30, 2024
On March 5th, the European Commission and the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy unveiled the first European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS). The strategy is a significant step towards enhancing the European Union’s (EU) defense industry and achieving greater strategic autonomy. However, the unveiling of this strategy has created tension with NATO, which is wary of the EU’s plans to play a more prominent role in defense.
A Necessary Strategy in a More Dangerous World
The EDIS is a significant step towards achieving the EU’s goal of greater strategic autonomy and strengthening European defense capabilities. The strategy proposes several key indicators to ensure member states invest more collaboratively in developing defense capabilities produced in Europe.
The EDIS recommends various actions and instruments including creating a Defence Industrial Preparedness Board, launching European Defence Projects of Common Interest, and providing financial support for Member States’ cooperation in European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) procurement. The successful implementation of the EDIS will be critical for achieving the EU’s strategic autonomy.
The publication of the Strategic Compass (the EU’s strategic concept to guide the development of its security and defense dimensions during the next decade) in March 2022, along with Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, represents a significant change in Europe’s security architecture, and the successful implementation of the EDIS will be crucial to the EU achieving strategic autonomy.
Tension with NATO over Defense Leadership
The EU’s proposal to establish the EDIS has caused concern within NATO. At a press conference on March 14th, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the EU’s plans to increase its defense spending and production but also cautioned that NATO is the organization responsible for establishing targets for capabilities and military spending levels.
Stoltenberg explained that it is not feasible for the EU and NATO to dictate defense policy and targets separately to European countries. He emphasized that having two institutions issuing individual lists of military equipment required by member countries would undermine each organization’s collective security efforts. According to Stoltenberg, NATO’s primary responsibility is to define standards, demand requirements, and provide military coordination.
NATO’s chief noted during the presentation of his report that the contribution of all members that are also part of the EU represents a paltry 20 percent of the Alliance’s total defense spending and that only two-thirds of allies meet the 2 percent defense spending target. Although 22 of the 32 NATO countries are simultaneously members of the EU, following Sweden’s accession to the Alliance in 2024, the bulk of spending still comes from non-EU NATO members such as the United States and United Kingdom.
NATO aims to improve defense production, planning, and procurement; provide continued aid to Ukraine; and adapt to emerging security challenges. However, NATO is concerned that the EU’s EDIS could duplicate structures and undermine NATO’s central role in Europe’s collective defense. The EU should work to ensure its efforts complement and reinforce NATO’s, rather than replicate them.
Ukraine and EDIS
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a significant conflict in Europe, leading to a renewed focus on creating a Defence Union within the European Union. The EU is developing its first EDIS to strengthen the common defense industry and achieve greater strategic autonomy. European leaders do not want to repeat the past mistakes of the inter-war period by failing to rearm in the face of an aggressive adversary.
The war has highlighted the need for a common understanding of the shortcomings and disparities between individual member states’ defense industries. To address this, the EU adopted the Strategic Compass in March 2022 to act as a security provider. Despite the Commission’s efforts to consolidate the EDTIB, the future of the strategy will depend on member states and industries. Its success depends on overcoming challenges and securing sufficient funding, considering that the Commission lacks the means to ensure their fulfillment.
A Difficult Balance Between Autonomy and Cooperation
The tension between the EU and NATO over defense leadership is not new. It reflects Europe’s eternal dilemma between the quest for greater strategic autonomy and the need to maintain the transatlantic link with the United States as the ultimate guarantor of its security in the face of existential threats such as Russia.
The EU has taken steps to develop its security and defense policy, but this progress has been met with reluctance in Washington as well as the more Atlantic-minded European capitals.
EDIS aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on other countries by enhancing the continent’s industrial and technological capabilities. The EU and NATO should strike a balance to avoid duplication. The EU’s economic and normative power can promote a more integrated and competitive defense industry across the continent while NATO remains the main channel for military coordination and force planning.
The Ukraine-Russia conflict remains a stalemate, with both sides entrenched in their positions. European capitals remain wary about the war’s implications for their own security. The EDIS aims to increase Europe’s defense capabilities as a means to achieve greater strategic autonomy for the continent. While the effort has created tensions with NATO, cooperation between the EU and NATO is essential to address security challenges efficiently. Developing a strategy for the European defense industry is complex, but it will allow Europe to become a more credible and responsible security actor.
Implementing the EDIS requires striking a delicate balance between maintaining NATO’s central role in European defense and cultivating individual member states’ support for the strategy. This balance is crucial for Europe to establish itself as a credible and responsible security actor and effectively promote its interests and values on the global stage.
Augusto Conte de los Ríos is a Commander in the Spanish Navy’s Submarine Forces. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Murcia and is a member of the international organizations ICOM, ICOMOS, and ICOFORT. He currently collaborates as a researcher at the Inter-American Defense College (IADC).
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.
Center for Maritime Strategy
By Commander Augusto Conte de los Rios, Spanish Navy
On March 5th, the European Commission and the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy unveiled the first European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS). The strategy is a significant step towards enhancing the European Union’s (EU) defense industry and achieving greater strategic autonomy. However, the unveiling of this strategy has created tension with NATO, which is wary of the EU’s plans to play a more prominent role in defense.
A Necessary Strategy in a More Dangerous World
The EDIS is a significant step towards achieving the EU’s goal of greater strategic autonomy and strengthening European defense capabilities. The strategy proposes several key indicators to ensure member states invest more collaboratively in developing defense capabilities produced in Europe.
The EDIS recommends various actions and instruments including creating a Defence Industrial Preparedness Board, launching European Defence Projects of Common Interest, and providing financial support for Member States’ cooperation in European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) procurement. The successful implementation of the EDIS will be critical for achieving the EU’s strategic autonomy.
The publication of the Strategic Compass (the EU’s strategic concept to guide the development of its security and defense dimensions during the next decade) in March 2022, along with Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, represents a significant change in Europe’s security architecture, and the successful implementation of the EDIS will be crucial to the EU achieving strategic autonomy.
Tension with NATO over Defense Leadership
The EU’s proposal to establish the EDIS has caused concern within NATO. At a press conference on March 14th, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the EU’s plans to increase its defense spending and production but also cautioned that NATO is the organization responsible for establishing targets for capabilities and military spending levels.
Stoltenberg explained that it is not feasible for the EU and NATO to dictate defense policy and targets separately to European countries. He emphasized that having two institutions issuing individual lists of military equipment required by member countries would undermine each organization’s collective security efforts. According to Stoltenberg, NATO’s primary responsibility is to define standards, demand requirements, and provide military coordination.
NATO’s chief noted during the presentation of his report that the contribution of all members that are also part of the EU represents a paltry 20 percent of the Alliance’s total defense spending and that only two-thirds of allies meet the 2 percent defense spending target. Although 22 of the 32 NATO countries are simultaneously members of the EU, following Sweden’s accession to the Alliance in 2024, the bulk of spending still comes from non-EU NATO members such as the United States and United Kingdom.
NATO aims to improve defense production, planning, and procurement; provide continued aid to Ukraine; and adapt to emerging security challenges. However, NATO is concerned that the EU’s EDIS could duplicate structures and undermine NATO’s central role in Europe’s collective defense. The EU should work to ensure its efforts complement and reinforce NATO’s, rather than replicate them.
Ukraine and EDIS
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a significant conflict in Europe, leading to a renewed focus on creating a Defence Union within the European Union. The EU is developing its first EDIS to strengthen the common defense industry and achieve greater strategic autonomy. European leaders do not want to repeat the past mistakes of the inter-war period by failing to rearm in the face of an aggressive adversary.
The war has highlighted the need for a common understanding of the shortcomings and disparities between individual member states’ defense industries. To address this, the EU adopted the Strategic Compass in March 2022 to act as a security provider. Despite the Commission’s efforts to consolidate the EDTIB, the future of the strategy will depend on member states and industries. Its success depends on overcoming challenges and securing sufficient funding, considering that the Commission lacks the means to ensure their fulfillment.
A Difficult Balance Between Autonomy and Cooperation
The tension between the EU and NATO over defense leadership is not new. It reflects Europe’s eternal dilemma between the quest for greater strategic autonomy and the need to maintain the transatlantic link with the United States as the ultimate guarantor of its security in the face of existential threats such as Russia.
The EU has taken steps to develop its security and defense policy, but this progress has been met with reluctance in Washington as well as the more Atlantic-minded European capitals.
EDIS aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on other countries by enhancing the continent’s industrial and technological capabilities. The EU and NATO should strike a balance to avoid duplication. The EU’s economic and normative power can promote a more integrated and competitive defense industry across the continent while NATO remains the main channel for military coordination and force planning.
EU-NATO cooperation began in 2003 with the ‘Berlin Plus’ arrangements, which allowed the EU access to NATO assets. Proposals in 2016 and 2017, the 2018 Brussels Joint Declaration, and a 2023 declaration have advanced seven cooperation areas that include hybrid threats, exercises, capability development, maritime operations, defense, cybersecurity, and defense industry research.
General Eisenhower said at the time of NATO’s creation in 1949: ‘if NATO is still needed ten years from now, it will have failed in its mission.’ Perhaps in 2029, on its 80th anniversary, NATO can finally declare ‘mission accomplished’ when Europeans are fully self-sufficient in terms of security.
Conclusion
The Ukraine-Russia conflict remains a stalemate, with both sides entrenched in their positions. European capitals remain wary about the war’s implications for their own security. The EDIS aims to increase Europe’s defense capabilities as a means to achieve greater strategic autonomy for the continent. While the effort has created tensions with NATO, cooperation between the EU and NATO is essential to address security challenges efficiently. Developing a strategy for the European defense industry is complex, but it will allow Europe to become a more credible and responsible security actor.
Implementing the EDIS requires striking a delicate balance between maintaining NATO’s central role in European defense and cultivating individual member states’ support for the strategy. This balance is crucial for Europe to establish itself as a credible and responsible security actor and effectively promote its interests and values on the global stage.
Augusto Conte de los Ríos is a Commander in the Spanish Navy’s Submarine Forces. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Murcia and is a member of the international organizations ICOM, ICOMOS, and ICOFORT. He currently collaborates as a researcher at the Inter-American Defense College (IADC).
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.