The new roadmap prioritises buying European equipment and building a more cohesive industry.

The EU has unveiled a new roadmap for rearming Europe and building credible deterrence.

Announced by the European Commission on 19 March, the roadmap – White Paper for European Defence - Readiness 2030 – lays out its key priorities for ensuring the security of Europe, building on the ReArm Europe plan announced in early March.

These priorities include supporting joint procurement, including buying European equipment; strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base; bolstering support for Ukraine; and addressing capability shortfalls, such as air defence and military mobility.

Strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base will be facilitated by piloting a ‘European Military Sales Mechanism’, to pool demand, enable joint procurement and build up strategic reserves, the roadmap detailed. In essence, the European Commission could act as a central purchasing or advisory body.  

Creating an “EU-wide market for defence equipment” by 2030 is key to this, helping to break down industrial fragmentation, stimulate research and address production capacity challenges, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said ahead of the launch.

This is essential as the “industrial base still has structural weaknesses…it is not yet able to produce defence systems and equipment in the quantities and speed that Member States need”, the president acknowledged.

To unlock industry’s full potential the EU also aims to simplify regulations and rules and establish a strategic dialogue with industry to identify and address obstacles. Following this, the European Commission will present a Defence Omnibus Simplification proposal by June 2025, the roadmap detailed.

Europe must also address its capability shortfalls, primarily regarding military mobility, von der Leyen said.

This will include setting up a functioning EU-wide network of land corridors, airports and seaports that facilitate the fast transport of troops and military equipment by 2030, the roadmap detailed.

Alongside this, the roadmap details additional capability gaps that must be addressed, these include the following: Air and missile defence; artillery; ammunition and missiles; drones and counter-drone systems; emerging and disruptive technology; and strategic enablers and critical infrastructure protection.

Bolstering support for Ukraine through a ‘steel porcupine strategy’ is another priority, outlined in the roadmap. This will involve setting up a joint ‘Task Force’ with Ukraine to better improve coordination between the EU and its members, including with the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.

In early March, the EU unveiled its ReArm Europe plan to bolster Europe’s military capabilities. The plan included unlocking EUR800 billion in defence funding by relaxing the EU’s debt rules.

A new EUR150 million investment vehicle was also mentioned, although little details were provided. The roadmap elaborates on this, calling it the ‘Security and Action for Europe’ (SAFE). The initiative will be used to enable common procurements with funding provided through loans backed by the EU budget. Ukraine can also tap into this initiative.

Overall, the roadmap demonstrates the EU's understanding of the importance of developing stronger military capabilities within the continent. Although, one of the largest spenders in Europe no longer resides in the union – the UK. It does, however, recognise that the UK is an important ally, noting the possibility of setting up a new 'Security and Defence partnership'. It remains to be seen what this will involve.