European Council conclusions on European defence and security, 23 October 2025
European Council / Council of the European Union
European Council
CONCLUSIONS
23 October 2025 16:15
III. EUROPEAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY
11. The European Council took stock of work aiming to decisively ramp up Europe's defence readiness by 2030. The European Council confirmed its determination to deliver at pace and at scale on this objective, so that Europe is better equipped to act and deal autonomously, in a coordinated way, and with a 360° approach, with immediate and future challenges and threats. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions for European and global security in a changing environment constitute an existential challenge for the European Union.
12. Further to the presentation by the Commission and the High Representative of the European Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, the European Council calls for Member State-led work on all the priority capability areas identified at EU level to be operationalised, with the support of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and on the basis of a coherent overall approach, building on the Strategic Compass, so that Europe develops the full spectrum of modern capabilities needed, in full coherence with NATO. The European Council acknowledges the work already undertaken by Member States, and calls on them to finalise the process of setting up capability coalitions in all the priority areas by the end of the year and to advance on concrete projects to be launched in the first half of 2026.
13. In doing so, the Union will reduce its strategic dependencies, address its critical capability gaps and strengthen the European defence technological and industrial base accordingly throughout the Union so that it is in a position to better supply equipment in the quantities and at the pace needed. This will also contribute to boosting European industrial and technological competitiveness, including for SMEs.
14. The European Council condemns the violation of the airspace of several Member States and stresses the importance of ensuring the defence of all EU land, air and maritime borders. The immediate threats on the EU's Eastern flank and the provision of concrete support to Member States need to be addressed as matters of priority.
15. In addition, considering the threats on the rest of the EU borders, the European Council stresses the importance of their defence.
16. In the light of Russia's and Belarus' intensified hybrid attacks and the recent violations of EU airspace, the European Council underscores the importance of close cooperation among Member States to comprehensively strengthen their defence and security capabilities. In this context, enhancing the resilience, security and protection of critical infrastructure, including energy, digital and undersea infrastructure, is also essential.
17. The European Council considers that, to respond to the most immediate needs and threats, work should focus in particular on concrete projects to reinforce Member States' joint efforts to enhance their anti-drone and air defence capabilities, in a coordinated manner, in particular making full use of the SAFE and EDIP instruments and other relevant existing financial instruments.
18. The European Council calls for accelerated joint development of space assets and services that serve security and defence purposes, as well as for the protection of existing assets, including dual-use assets, given their importance for Europe's strategic autonomy.
19. In order to ramp up the European defence industry's capacity, the European Council calls on Member States to increasingly gear defence investment towards joint development, production, and procurement, with the support of the EDA, as demand aggregation on the basis of standardised requirements and economies of scale are key to providing predictability to industry, lowering costs and fostering interoperability. The SAFE and EDIP instruments should be fully mobilised to that end. The European Council stresses the importance of the proper functioning and further integration of the European defence market across the Union, including cross-border access to defence supply chains, especially for SMEs and mid-caps.
20. The European Council underlines the importance of close cooperation with Ukraine and of its integration with and contribution to the European defence industry, notably as regards defence innovation and cutting-edge defence technology.
21. The European Council stresses the need to ensure effective political oversight and coordination to keep track of progress and to intensify work by defence ministers in the Council on Europe's defence readiness. This work will be informed by an annual defence readiness report, to be prepared by the EDA with the support of the Commission and the High Representative, and presented to the European Council. The report will take stock of progress towards closing the existing capability gaps, building on the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD).
22. The European Council calls on the Council to strengthen the European Defence Agency so that it can fully play its role in the field of defence capability development, research and acquisition and to report on the necessary measures by the end of 2025.
23. Recalling the commitment to substantially increase expenditure on Europe's defence and security, the European Council reviewed work on the relevant financing options and on cooperation to invest more efficiently in the field of defence. It welcomes the progress made since March 2025 with regard to the activation of the national escape clauses, the mid-term review of the EU cohesion policy, and the SAFE and EDIP instruments.
24. The European Council acknowledges the progress made on the Defence Readiness Omnibus, welcomes progress on the proposal on incentivising defence related investments in the EU budget and looks forward to a swift agreement by the end of 2025. It calls on the Commission to present new proposals on simplification as soon as possible.
25. The European Council also welcomes the efforts made by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to step up, simplify and accelerate its support for European security and defence capabilities. It encourages the EIB Group to further explore ways to finance industries and companies, and help start-ups to scale up in the security and defence sector in Europe.
26. The European Council underlines the importance of innovative technologies and disruptive solutions and calls on the Commission to present a roadmap for defence industry transformation.
27. The European Council reiterates its invitation to the Commission and the High Representative to present further proposals to strengthen military mobility throughout the Union.
28. The European Council recalls the importance of working together with like-minded partners, who share the EU's foreign and security policy goals.
29. The European Council recalls that a stronger and more capable European Union in the field of security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which remains, for those States that are members of it, the foundation of their collective defence.
30. The above is without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States, and takes into account the security and defence interests of all Member States, in accordance with the Treaties.
31. The European Council will continue to provide strategic guidance and review progress on the implementation of the defence readiness objective.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
