EU defence expenditure is projected to reach €454 billion in 2026, yet only 24% of equipment procurement in 2025 was collaborative — The challenge for SAFE and the competition over industry, contracts and national control.
Brussels enters a crucial phase in negotiations over the EU’s 2028–2034 budget: almost €2tn, a fivefold increase in defence funding, up to €100bn for Ukraine and an increasingly difficult battle over national contributions — as political uncertainty in Germany complicates the search for compromise.
The €3 billion “Achilles Shield” puts Greece at the forefront of a wider European shift toward Israeli air-defence, surveillance and electronic-warfare technology. But as the EU pushes for “strategic autonomy,” a difficult contradiction is emerging: Europe wants defence independence while relying on increasingly critical technology from outside the bloc.
Europe is undertaking its biggest defence build-up in decades, but money does not automatically translate into military power. Fragmented procurement, industrial bottlenecks, capability shortages and weaknesses in oversight are putting the EU’s Readiness 2030 ambition to the test.
