Building European Defence Capabilities: How and with Whom?

On February 6th, 2025, the Armament Industry European Research Group (ARES Group) hosted a seminar in Brussels on the challenges of building European defence capabilities. The discussion took place in the context of Donald Trump’s re-election to the White House, preliminary talks on ending the war in Ukraine and, at the EU level, ongoing negotiations on the adoption of the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). Debates focused on how the European Union (EU) can strengthen the European Defence and Technological Industrial Base (EDTIB), shape its governance of this field and address key challenges such as financing, prioritisation in capability development, and coherence with NATO.

The role of the EU and NATO after Trump’s come back to the White House and the discussions between Washington and Moscow, the future of European investments in the EDTIB and the definition of European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCI) will be the core of discussions at the EU level. To discuss these challenges, the ARES Group organised two panels, bringing together institutional, national, industrial and think tank’s perspectives on the future European strategy for building European defence capabilities. The first panel examined the issues of scope, governance and partners in defining the strategy for building European Defence Capabilities, while the second panel took a closer look at the European intention to create EDPCI, examining definition, financing and modalities.