Top defence CEO touts need for €100 billion euro EU defence fund

Published on 12/06/2025 - 6:30 GMT+2

EU countries pooling tens of billions of their defence spending into a associated EU money could thief finance basal flagship projects and adjacent capacity gaps faster, nan incoming caput of Europe's largest defence manufacture relation told Euronews, recognising it would nevertheless require governmental leadership.

Micael Johansson, nan CEO of Swedish defence and information institution Saab, said connected Wednesday that steps taken by nan European Commission to turbocharge defence spending successful nan EU spell successful nan correct guidance but that much needs to beryllium done to facilitate countries and companies processing and acquiring caller systems together.

The EU executive's 'Readiness 2030' scheme for defence, unveiled successful March, relies connected 2 main financial pillars: nan relaxation of fiscal rules for defence spending which nan Commission estimated could spot €650 cardinal poured into nan assemblage complete nan coming 4 years; and a €150 cardinal indebtedness instrumentality called SAFE.

Johansson, who will from 15 June return nan helm of nan Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) which represents immoderate 4,000 companies, said that these financing options stay chiefly successful nan hands of each authorities and based connected their ain contiguous needs.

"Maybe it's wishful thinking, but if countries really would beryllium prepared to walk portions of their defence fund into a money (...) that would create a communal money which could beryllium worked upon successful position of launching flagship projects," he told Euronews connected nan sidelines of a European Defence and Security Summit successful Brussels.

He suggested that nan European Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP), a regularisation first tabled successful early 2024 that is still making its measurement done nan EU lawmaking process, could beryllium nan correct spot for this fund.

The regularisation presently plans for €1.5 cardinal from nan EU fund to beryllium spent connected strengthening nan European defence business guidelines complete nan 2025-2027 period, but Johansson said that successful bid to finance large projects, "a 100 cardinal euros" mightiness beryllium much appropriate.

He acknowledged nevertheless that this "is a large step". "I don't really cognize really to execute that. It's governmental decisions, of course".

Defence is simply a hugely delicate taxable that falls nether nationalist competencies successful nan EU, pinch personnel states fiercely protective of their homegrown champions successful nan sector. But this has led to a profoundly fragmented market, suboptimal interoperability betwixt nan different systems and an manufacture little agile to respond to crises.

The EU and its personnel states, 23 of which are besides NATO allies, are presently scrambling to plug holes successful nan bloc's defences and person identified 7 privilege capacity areas including ammunition, drone and anti-drone systems, aerial defence, subject mobility, and physics warfare among others.

European companies will beryllium capable to meet astir of nan continents' needs, Johansson said, but lag down their US counterparts successful immoderate cardinal areas specified arsenic integrated aerial rocket systems, long-range onslaught capabilities, and autonomous systems for illustration sophisticated, high-end drones.

With Washington progressively sending mixed messages complete its semipermanent committedness to Europe's defence arsenic it seeks to pivot immoderate of its resources successful nan Indo-Pacific region, these "flagship" projects could use from a much European attack and associated financing, Johnasson said. This could beryllium done personnel states aliases companies creating alleged coalitions of nan consenting to create communal systems.

"But this is not easy because location is simply a trade-off betwixt nationalist sovereignty and creating interdependencies," he told Euronews.

The Commission's defence connection plans for much collaboration betwixt personnel states pinch respective of them required to excavation their orders together successful bid to entree financing done nan SAFE instrument.

The EU executive is meantime group to unveil a caller connection adjacent week for nan defence assemblage aimed astatine slashing reddish tape.