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On invitation only
Seminar organized by ARES Group in Bruxelles. On invitation only.
The White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030 set ambitious capability objectives for rearming Europe in response to a deteriorating threat environment, particularly Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. These objectives were reaffirmed at the NATO Summit in June 2026, which set ambitious targets for military spending.
The question, then, is whether EU Member States, and Europe more broadly, will be ready by 2030. Member States have an essential role to play: they define their defence policies, vote on the relevant budgets and determine their military planning. Yet collective frameworks remain indispensable for defence. Since 2022, the European Union has launched several initiatives designed to accelerate Europe’s rearmament, support the EDTIB, and encourage joint procurement. However, it is now necessary to look ahead – to the period leading up to 2030 and beyond.
Several initiatives are currently underway to meet these objectives. The first is the revitalisation of the European Defence Agency, decided at the European Council of October 2025. The second is the future 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and its European Competitiveness Fund. This new instrument is intended to bring together all the initiatives launched in support of the EDTIB since the creation of the European Defence Fund in 2021. What will the objectives of the European Competitiveness Fund be? Will it be able to structure the EDTIB? And how might it address the governance challenges involved?
The future of the EDTIB, and of the capabilities it may ultimately deliver, also depends on how the internal market is organised. The European Commission is going to publish a communication on this issue which will be followed by a draft revision of Directive 2009/81/EC. While the regulatory dimension is not sufficient to define what an internal defence market should be, it nevertheless makes a major contribution to shaping it. All these questions will be addressed at the ARES seminar: “Readiness 2030: Are We Heading in the Right Direction?”.
Programme
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From 09:00 To 09:05
Welcome Address
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Jean-Pierre Maulny
Scientific Adviser at IRIS, Head of the Defence, Strategy and Armaments Programme and ARES Group
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From 09:05 To 09:25
Keynote Speech
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Marek Opiola
Member of the European Court of Auditors, Reporting Member of the Report “EU Defense Policy in the Spotlight”
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From 09:25 To 10:55
The European Competitiveness Fund (ECF): A Tool to Reach the Readiness 2030 Objective and Beyond
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Daniel Fiott
Head, Defence and Statecraft Programme, Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels School of Governance, Assistant Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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Diego de OJEDA GARCIA-PARDO
Head of Unit for Defence and Security Policies at the Secretariat General of the European Commission
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Kari Renko
Executive Vice President, Strategic Programs, Patria
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[TBC]
A representative of the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU
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Moderation
Federico Santopinto
Senior Research Fellow at IRIS, Head of the Europe, EU, NATO Programme on EU/NATO issues
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From 10:55 To 11:15
Coffee break
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From 11:15 To 12:45
Defence Internal Market: How to Better Organise Offer and Demand?
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Thierry Belloeil
Deputy Armaments Adviser to the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union and to the North Atlantic Council
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Tobias Cremer
Member of the European Parliament
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Anne Fort
Deputy Head of Cabinet, Cabinet of Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space
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David Luengo
Managing Director Brussels Office, Indra
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Federico Santopinto
Senior Research Fellow at IRIS, Head of the Europe, EU, NATO Programme on EU/NATO issues
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Moderation
Louise Souverbie
Senior Research Fellow at IRIS, Head of the Europe, EU and NATO Programme on political developments in European countries
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From 12:45 To 12:50
Conclusion
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Jean-Pierre Maulny
Scientific Adviser at IRIS, Head of the Defence, Strategy and Armaments Programme and ARES Group
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