Defence White Paper, Newsletter
Wednesday 19 March – Commission presents White Paper on the future of European Defence .
Thursday 20 & Friday 21 March – Ukraine, defence and competitiveness under debate during EU Council Summit in Brussels.
Hope you had a good rest this weekend — and a coffee this morning, because Brussels isn't giving anyone a break this week.
On the five-day menu: more discussions on defence, funding, and (again!) competitiveness.
The key date? Wednesday, when the European Commission unveils its long-awaited White Paper on the Future of European Defence, along with a closely linked communication on the Savings and Investments Union.
The defence paper will outline ways to boost production and readiness, while the investment plan is "indispensable" to von der Leyen's 'Rearm Europe' initiative.
"We need to ensure that the billions of savings from Europeans are invested in markets inside the EU," the Commission president wrote to member states earlier this month.
Capital isn't lacking: European households save €1.4 trillion annually compared to €800 billion in the US — yet €300 billion of those European savings flow into non-EU markets each year.
The Savings and Investments Union aims to improve the channelling of these savings into productive investments, unlocking the full potential of the bloc's capital markets.
According to a draft seen by Euronews, the plan targets areas such as encouraging retail investor participation, growing the supplementary pension sector, promoting equity and venture capital investment, and enhancing market integration across the EU.
As for defence, the white paper will urge member states to spend more, spend better, and spend European.
The latest draft seen by Euronews outlines five strategic priorities: securing critical industrial inputs and reducing dependencies, promoting defence skills and expertise, strengthening industrial capacities across the EU, cutting red tape, and removing barriers to the circulation of defence products.
Then on Thursday — and likely Friday — EU leaders will gather in Brussels to hash out these proposals, set priorities for the next long-term budget (2028-34), and tackle competitiveness, which tops the agenda.
Buckle up. It's going to be a busy week.
Elbowed aside?
Defence continues to dominate discussion across the bloc and within its various institutions. The proposal for a Rearm Europe plan, presented by President Ursula von der Leyen, raised concerns among MEPs who feel sidelined by the executive's plans. Manfred Weber, the German leader of the EPP, criticised Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for bypassing the European Parliament in shaping the defence initiative, arguing that excluding MEPs undermines democratic accountability. The new financial instrument, worth €150 billion in loans, was presented directly to the Council, with the justification that the emergency situation warrants proceeding without consulting Parliament.
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