Europe Plans to Enhance Its Military Capabilities by 2030 to Face the Russian Threat

The European Commission is preparing to launch a comprehensive defense plan aimed at enhancing the military capabilities of the European Union by 2030, in a move that comes in response to the Russian war in Ukraine and amid a decline in the clarity of American commitment to the continent's security.
According to a report from Politico, the anticipated document confirms that a militarily equipped Russia poses a persistent threat to Europe's security in the foreseeable future.


The Problem of Separate Spending and Military Compatibility Challenges

Although most EU countries have significantly increased their defense budgets since the outbreak of the war, spending is still done on a separate national basis, leading to higher costs and weak compatibility among European armies.
Therefore, the new plan proposes raising the percentage of joint contracts for arms purchases to 40% by 2027, and increasing the share of European and Ukrainian companies to 60% by 2030, to strengthen the defense industry's base within the continent.


Nine Priorities and Three Major Defense Projects

The document focuses on bridging defense gaps in nine key areas including:
air and missile defense, artificial intelligence, drones, naval defense, and advanced cyber systems.

It includes three major projects that represent the backbone of future European defense capability:

1. Eastern Wing Monitoring System through the integration of land and air defense and drone countermeasures.


2. European Air Shield, a project to create a multi-layered air defense system.


3. Space Defense Shield to protect EU assets and strategic centers in space.



Massive Funding and Internal Resistance

Experts expect that initial projects will launch in the first half of 2026, with contracts signed and funding allocated for the most urgent gaps by the end of 2028.
The Commission aims to mobilize around 800 billion euros to support European defense, through programs such as the European Defense Fund (EDF), the SAFE initiative for defense lending, in addition to the upcoming multiannual European budget.

However, the plan faces reservations from some member states that consider defense a traditional national sovereign area, believing that transferring powers in this field to Brussels may limit their military decision-making independence.


Coordination with NATO and Expanding the Concept of Threats

The document emphasized that member states will remain "masters of their national defense decisions," but urged for close coordination with NATO to avoid mission conflicts between the two sides.
It also called for adopting a broader vision of threats that includes the Middle East and Africa, in light of global geopolitical shifts and a declining focus of some Western allies on Europe.