ASD statement on the White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030

As a trusted partner for our armed forces, the European defence industry stands ready to bolster Europe’s capacity to defend itself and deter military aggression. The industry is at a critical juncture: after decades of underinvestment, it must now scale up production dramatically and at an accelerated pace. To achieve this, urgent action from the EU and member states is vital.

We support in particular the White Paper’s call for more collaborative procurement. Aggregation of demand and harmonisation of requirements would significantly contribute to achieving economies of scale, reducing lead-time and prices, and enhancing efficiency. At the same time, it is of utmost importance that new orders are placed with European providers to reduce critical dependencies and strengthen Europe’s security of supply and freedom of action.

From an industrial perspective, it is essential that European countries place orders for new defence equipment with a long-term perspective to provide planning certainty. With such visibility, the European defence industry is fully able and ready to rapidly increase production further, deliver at pace, and meet European needs with state-of-the art equipment and solutions.

We also welcome suggested measures in today’s White Paper that aim to ensure security of supply with essential raw materials and components, enhance access to finance, leverage the full industrial ecosystem including the role of SMEs, stimulate research to foster innovation, and facilitate the recruitment and (up-)skilling of labour force. Equally important is the announced Defence Omnibus Simplification to cut red tape and overcome regulatory hurdles.

Time is of the essence. We therefore call upon all relevant stakeholders at EU and national level to act with speed, including to rapidly implement the proposals made in the White Paper.

The defence industry looks forward to the proposed Strategic Dialogue with the Commission.