The European Union unveiled on Thursday a comprehensive roadmap to boost the bloc’s defense readiness, setting specific targets for closing military capability gaps and preparing for future threats.
“This roadmap for defense readiness is a plan to keep peace over the next few years — there must be a major buildup of European defense capabilities,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said during the presentation in Brussels.
Kallas warned that while “Russia has no capacity to launch an attack on the European Union today, it could prepare itself in the years to come,” emphasizing that “danger will not disappear, even if the war in Ukraine ends.” She announced that member states have identified nine key capability areas “in line with NATO targets,” with the European Defense Agency tasked to coordinate efforts, connect governments with defense industries, and aggregate procurement demands.
The plan envisions filling all major shortfalls by 2030, with countries forming “coalitions” to develop key technologies where acting alone is not feasible. Work has already begun on a “drones coalition” led by the Netherlands and Latvia, focusing on developing advanced drone defense systems. Kallas confirmed that a new EU-wide anti-drone defense network will be “fully operational by 2027,” developed in close cooperation with NATO.
She underscored that Eastern Europe “bears the brunt of the threat,” announcing the Eastern Plank Watch initiative — an integrated defense effort combining air, ground, and maritime security along the EU’s eastern flank by 2028.
Joint procurement remains one of the biggest obstacles, Kallas admitted, noting that “defense joint procurement is still far too low.” The EU aims to increase it to 40% of total defense spending by 2027, arguing that collective purchasing will lower costs and strengthen Europe’s industrial base.
Kallas also reaffirmed Ukraine’s central role in Europe’s defense architecture, describing it as “Europe’s first line of defense.” She revealed that the EU plans to establish a drone alliance with Ukraine by early next year, leveraging Kyiv’s “world-class” drone expertise.
“We must use their battlefield experience and innovation to build on it together,” she concluded, stressing that the roadmap will also focus on defense financing and creating an integrated EU-wide defense market.
