European Defense and Our Vision

As members of Eurodefense Joven España (EDJE), we are contributing to the Eurodefense Network with a few articles that matter to young people. EDJE is a non-profit association aimed at reinforcing the culture of security and defense among Europe’s youth.

Since Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine two years ago, the European Union has resumed strengthening its defense capabilities and cooperation. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, presented the Strategic Compass for Security and Defense to the EU, aimed at protecting its citizens, values, and interests while contributing to international peace and security. This year Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, also announced plans to introduce a strategy for the European defense industry, designed to strengthen military production and arms supply. This discussion intensified following Donald Trump’s comments, which suggested that the US might disregard NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause. The current President of the EC advocates for a more autonomous and self-reliant European Defense Industrial Strategy.

An analysis of the latest Eurobarometer, conducted ahead of the European Elections scheduled for June 6-9, 2024, reveals that European citizens rank EU defense and security as the third most important concern. This issue has gained prominence throughout the parliamentary term, particularly considering Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, when asked about the EU’s role in the world, European citizens identify defense and security (37%) as the top priority for reinforcing the EU’s global position, followed by energy issues and food security/agriculture (both at 30%). While four in ten citizens believe that the EU’s role has become more important in recent years, 35% think it has remained the same, and 22% believe it has diminished (European Union, 2024).

Following the latest Eurobarometer, EU leaders have outlined their plan in a 27-page draft of a European Defense Industry Strategy. Although EU defense spending reached a record 270 billion euros ($295 billion) in 2023, significant capability gaps persist. Defense economists and planners have long advocated for greater cooperation among European governments and defense companies. Theoretically, such cooperation could yield economic benefits, such as reduced equipment duplication, increased production, and lower costs. However, in practice national interests and protectionism, coupled with operational and bureaucratic inefficiencies, have historically impeded effective collaboration. Between 2021 and 2022, only 18 percent of the total equipment investment in Europe was collaborative. The EU’s treaties prevent the use of its funds for military expenditure. However, Europe’s defense industries fall under the European Commission’s domain. Nevertheless, NATO remains the main pillar and foundation of security for Western democracies. The objective is to reorganize the industrial program across the sector.

Europe is at a turning point where difficult decisions must be made. War has returned to Europe and the European Union can no longer count on the protection of the United States due to uncertainties surrounding President Trump’s policies. The EU cannot say that it was caught off guard. Donald Trump was president from 2017 to 2020 and strongly pressured allies to increase their spending. Joe Biden’s victory was a relief and Emmanuel Macron’s requests for strategic autonomy of the EU and an end to dependence on the United States were ignored. Josep Borrell also tried to warn them, but no one wanted to listen to the High Representative, disregarded by some conservative leaders. «The European Union remains an association of States. Each one maintains its own foreign and defense policy. “It is ill-prepared to wage war, because when it had to choose between butter and cannon, it chose butter and embarked on a process of silent disarmament, slowly reducing its military capabilities,” he told us in 2022 (Cadena SER, 2025).

With Trump’s return, Europe faces renewed uncertainty. They have realized that they are going to have to spend much more on defense and depend less on American military support. It’s no surprise. Trump has warned of his intentions. But Trump’s demands pose a significant challenge: that they dedicate 5% of their GDP to their military spending, that they replace the American forces that are leaving to return to the United States, and that they provide support to Ukraine on their own. The new US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was blunt yesterday in his first speech to his NATO counterparts: “The United States remains committed to the Alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe, but we will no longer tolerate an unbalanced relationship that fosters dependency,” he told them during his speech at the opening of a meeting of the contact group for military support to Ukraine (Capaccio, 2025). In short: Europe must emancipate itself and provide itself with the necessary means to guarantee the defense of the continent. “2% of GDP for defense is not enough. President Donald Trump has asked for 5% and I support that request.” Otherwise, the American umbrella could be withdrawn in the future.

The European Union must become aware of the new geopolitical reality. US President Donald Trump is not only abandoning Europe and Ukraine, but he is also revealing a strategic shift: that of an “imperialist” that the EU can confront if it remains “united” and has the “political will” to influence. This is the warning issued by the former High Representative, Josep Borrell, following Trump’s decision to begin immediate negotiations with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war, ignoring the Europeans and the Ukrainians. “One day, the United States will abandon the Old Continent. General De Gaulle’s prophecy is coming true,” Borrell declares in an interview RTVE (RTVE Play, 2025). The Spaniard does not hide his concern about “a moment of rupture, a change of era”. Should Europe resign itself? We think the Europeans could confront this imperialist attitude by assertively implementing its foreign policy. “We have many means and actors in Brussels to do it. We are amid a common foreign and security policy, and that is the role of the President of the Council,” he recalls. “The European Union must intervene, and I am sure that it will do so. Its great strength is its unity. We must work for this unity. Because if 2 or 3 member states support Trump’s position, the EU will cease to be a union,” warns Borrell (RTVE Play, 2025).