Making defence European again

Summary — “Making defence European again” (ECFR, Rafael Loss, Marta Prochwicz Jazowska & Jana Puglierin, 4 June 2026)

This flagship policy brief argues Europeans must be ready to defend themselves without American help, and quickly, given the combination of an expansionist Russia and an unreliable US. Rather than replicating NATO or building a new EU superstructure, it proposes a distinctly European model resting on three pillars. First, shared leadership: NATO’s command architecture (reorganized into sub-regional coalitions built around the alliance’s Joint Force Commands) provides the military backbone; the EU supplies funding, political legitimacy (via Article 42.7) and financial/economic contingency tools; and flexible minilateral coalitions (E5, NB8, Joint Expeditionary Force) offer speed and adaptability. Second, better capabilities: closing European gaps in ISR, munitions stockpiles, drones, air defence and fortifications, improving military readiness and exercises, and — most strikingly — strengthening a distinctly European nuclear deterrent, including deeper UK-France coordination, possible French entry into NATO’s nuclear planning group, and even a contingency “nuclear hedging coalition” among non-nuclear states as a worst-case option. Third, a pan-European defence industrial base: moving from voluntary coordination to enforceable EU-backed industrial cooperation, cross-certifying munitions and maintenance, shifting from loans to grants, and deepening partnerships with the UK, Norway, Ukraine, and allies like Japan, Australia, South Korea and Canada. The paper stresses this must happen within a critical 5-7 year window, treating any US role as a bonus rather than a guarantee — “with America where possible, with less America where necessary, without America if it comes to that.”

The Russian threat is not going away any time soon. To defend themselves without America’s help, Europeans need to pursue a new, distinctly European model of defence and deterrence

Source: ECFR Publications · June 4, 2026