Why Europe needs to invest in its defense institutions (PDF)

PDF Report: Explore strategies for European defence investment to strengthen security, agility, and global competitiveness. 

In brief:

• Over the past six months, Europe’s defense and security landscape has shifted significantly in response to rising global and regional threats, prompting European NATO members to rapidly update policies and legislation and increase defence spending from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035.
• The majority of this investment will be directed towards new weapons systems and frontline equipment, but genuine security enhancement requires a broader transformation in defense and military preparedness.
• Building an agile, flexible capacity across the defense ecosystem will be critical to the challenges ahead, necessitating governments to rethink and restructure defence sourcing and supply chain ecosystems.
• Collaboration with the private sector is essential to enable more agile and flexible procurement, development, and production of materiel, supported by new digital frameworks, systems, and data threads to maximise organisational capabilities.
• A more open and adaptable approach to talent development is required both within existing personnel and across wider society to ensure Europe’s defense institutions are prepared for future challenges.