A major problem is that EU countries largely determine for themselves which military capabilities they need. As a result, joint planning mainly comes from the bottom up. Effective planning at the joint EU level is lacking, while the various national defense systems are insufficiently aligned with each other.
Fragmented
The spending of available funds is also insufficiently coordinated. According to the EU Court of Auditors, European and national funding streams run alongside each other. This can lead to fragmented investments, duplicated efforts, and shortages of necessary capabilities or expertise.
This warning comes on the eve of the EU decisions regarding a new multiannual financial framework (MFF), in which the European Commission wants to allocate more money for defense projects in the period 2028 - 2035.
Promotion
Between 2020 and 2025, the combined defense expenditures of EU countries rose by almost 80 percent. With this, Europe is trying to make up for deficits that have emerged after years of cuts.
Backlogs
Those backlogs are substantial. The defense sector suffers from insufficient stocks of, among other things, ammunition and missiles, long production times, and logistical bottlenecks. Industrial constraints and dependence on non-European suppliers also hamper a rapid strengthening of defense.
More money therefore does not automatically provide a solution. If the extra funding is not used properly, shortages of materials, key components, and skilled personnel may arise. This can make it difficult to actually convert available money into the required defense capacity.
Without the US
In addition, political coordination is slow and Europe remains dependent on the United States. According to the Court of Auditors, this makes it ‘a major challenge’ to become sufficiently autonomous by 2030 to conduct large-scale military operations without external assistance.