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What Brussels Is Doing Behind the Scenes
National governments are not acting alone.
At the EU level, Brussels has launched what may be the most ambitious defence coordination effort in its history.
European defence spending surpassed €300 billion in 2024. Under the proposed 2028–2034 EU budget, an additional €131 billion has been earmarked for aerospace and defence—five times more than in the previous budget cycle.
At the heart of the strategy is Readiness 2030, a roadmap endorsed by all 27 member states.
Its goals are practical and urgent:
Enable troop and equipment movement across EU borders within three days in peacetime
Reduce that to six hours during emergencies
Eliminate bureaucratic delays through a “Military Schengen” system
To achieve this, the EU is identifying and upgrading around 500 critical infrastructure points, including bridges, tunnels, ports, and railways capable of supporting heavy military equipment.
The estimated cost ranges between €70 and €100 billion, funded through a mix of national budgets and EU programs such as the Connecting Europe Facility.
ReArm Europe: The Financial Engine Behind the Push
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In 2025, Brussels launched ReArm Europe, a central coordination platform designed to align national defence investments and accelerate industrial capacity.
Europe’s defence sector has long suffered from fragmentation—multiple national systems, incompatible equipment, and duplicated procurement. ReArm Europe aims to change that.
Under its umbrella are two key tools:
EDIP (European Defence Industry Programme)
€1.5 billion for joint research, development, and production
Projects must involve at least three EU countries (or two plus Ukraine)
SAFE (Strategic Armament Financing Envelope)
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