By Andrew Gray
BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - European politicians need to provide more clarity on who should do what to boost the continent’s defences, or risk wasting money due to slow decision-making and overlapping projects, a leading figure representing Europe’s defence companies has said.
European countries have rushed to boost defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and U.S. President Donald Trump made clear they should expect less U.S. support through the NATO military alliance.
Alongside national governments and NATO – the long-dominant players in European defence policymaking and funding - EU 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 United States 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.
EU GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN DEFENCE SECTOR
Recent EU initiatives include Security Action for Europe, a 150 billion euro loan scheme for defence spending, the European Defence Industrial Programme to boost the sector and a Defence Readiness Roadmap to get the continent ready to defend itself by 2030.
“It all boils down to getting a little more clarity on: How do we govern this necessary collective effort to deliver capabilities faster?” Grand said.
He highlighted air and missile defence as an area that would benefit from more clarity, as projects and initiatives from different bodies have emerged to protect against missiles, drones and other threats.
Some European officials also see a need for greater coordination. European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has called for the establishment of European Security Council, which could include countries outside the EU such as Britain in some decisions.
But EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has expressed scepticism about the idea. “I don't think another institution will actually make it easier,” she told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Alex Richardson)
