European countries have rushed to boost defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and United States (US) President Donald Trump made clear they should expect less US support through the NATO military alliance. Alongside national governments and NATO the long-dominant players in European defence policymaking and funding European Union bodies such as the European Commission and the European Defence Agency have become increasingly involved in the sector in recent years.
Many of their initiatives seek to fill gaps in Europe’s defences such as counter-drone systems, reduce reliance on the US and encourage joint procurement of weapons. It’s a bit of an alphabet soup of organisations that have a role,” Camille Grand, secretary-general of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe, told Reuters in an interview. We don’t have yet a clean governance for all of that, to define who does what and how decisions are taken,” said Grand, speaking at the Brussels office of his organisation, which represents more than 4 000 companies in 21 countries.
–Reuters–
