European Defence Union: the institutional pillar comes to fruition

The first pillar to have a European Defence Union has come to fruition. As the year draws to a close, and after only a few months since this legislature began, we have the first Commissioner for Defence and Space in the history of the European Union, and we have activated the legislative arm to accompany him in his work: a full-fledged committee for Defence.

So far, Defence was a subcommittee inside the Foreign Affairs Committee, but this European Parliament has responded quickly to the citizens demand and the urgency that prevails in the international context. There is no time to lose, and this great step must be followed by others that are no less important, such as the establishment of a meeting of Defence Ministers with a format similar to the ones that exist on other matters in the Council of the European Union.

We all know that there is no defence without industry, and there is no industry without money. This is another key that we must address responsibly: until now, we have not dealt with the defence market as a real one. And certainly this market operates, like all others, under the law of supply and demand, but with some peculiarities that make it special beyond its strategic relevance.

Thus, unlike what happens in other countries such as Russia or China, where both the supply and demand of goods and services related to defence are in the hands of the State, in the case of the European Union and its Member States, the supply is mainly in private hands, while the demand is only public.

Hence the importance of keeping a permanent dialogue between governments and industry and being able to guarantee companies sustained by public demand in the medium and long term so that they can invest and produce the capabilities we need.

Furthermore, all this requires economic and financial resources. This is the third great challenge that we have ahead of us. We need resources now, until the next Multiannual Financial Framework that will begin in 2028 will allocate a specific heading to defence. Meanwhile, we must be flexible and creative with the resources we have, relying on tools that have already shown their effectiveness (such as the European Defence Fund, VAT exemptions for joint programs, or bonds), as well as allowing the Member States and their regions to reassign the use they give to the funds they have already been allocated.

All of this will contribute to a necessary change of mindset that must extend from the EIB to private banks, assuming that our defence and security are a basic public good and, therefore, their financing is more than legitimate. Without a doubt, preparing for a possible conflict can be costly, but not being prepared will be truly expensive.

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