ASD Statement on the Special European Council, 6 March 2025

On 6 March, EU Heads of State and Government met in Brussels for a Special European Council, dedicated to European defence and the support for Ukraine.

In their conclusions, EU leaders reiterated among others their commitment to “reinforce overall defence readiness, reduce strategic dependencies, address critical capability gaps and strengthen the European defence technological and industrial bases accordingly...”

Jan Pie, Secretary General of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), commented as follows:

“ASD welcomes today’s conclusions of the European Council just like all efforts aimed at enabling Europe to deter military aggression and defend itself. The European defence industry stands ready to bolster Europe’s capacity to do so. European defence companies have already significantly invested to expand their production. Within the limits of what is economically and financially possible, they have started to prepare for a ramp up of production even before orders were placed.

However, to make major investments in production capacities, industry needs long-term procurement contracts. Once such contracts are placed and firm commitments made, the European defence industry can rapidly ramp-up its production capacity. Time is of essence, and the European defence industry is fully able and ready to rapidly increase production further, deliver at pace, and meet European needs, as soon as orders are placed.

Aggregation of demand and harmonisation of requirements between European countries will reduce complexity for producers, lower lead-time and prices and increase efficiency. 

It is now more than obvious that Buy European is a strategic imperative. We must reduce – ideally avoid – critical dependences on non-European suppliers.  A strong and innovative European defence industry is indispensable for Europe’s security – it is a defence capability in itself.”