The full support was given today (27.6.25) the summit of its EU In the decisions of the summit of NATO (24 – 25.6.25) to increase the target of defense costs of its members to 5% by 2035.
Specifically, the official announcement of the EU Summit states that “the European Council calls on the Member States to coordinate the implementation of the relevant commitments” which they have made at the NATO meeting days ago.
In this context, the European Council “welcomes the approval of the regulation for the establishment of the security action for Europe (SAFE) and the forthcoming activation of national escape rhetoric on the basis of the Stability and Development Pact.
The European Council calls on co-legalists to consider rapidly, with the aim of rapidly agreeing, the proposal to provide incentives for defense-related investments in the EU budget and to promote work on the proposal to address the security and defense challenges in the context funds.
It reminds the importance of mobilizing private funding for defense industry, welcomes the efforts of the European Investment Bank in this regard and invites it to continue the efforts to adapt its practices to lend to defense industry, in particular through the continuation of its re -evaluation and reassessment and of defense, while safeguarding its activities and financial capacity.
Taking into account the urgent need to strengthen European defense technological and industrial base throughout the Union, in order to be able to produce and supply better equipment to the quantities and with the accelerated rate required, the European Council reiterates the importance of concentration of demand, and harmonization and harmonization and harmonization and harmonization of the European Defense Market throughout the Union.
Work on the capabilities in the priority areas specified at EU level must be accelerated, in full consistency with NATO. The European Council encourages the rapid development and implementation of collaborative projects in this matter, including the full use of SAFE. Specifically, the European Council welcomes work to identify specific opportunities and overall demand within the European Defense Organization. It highlights the need for Member States to do work quickly, including the execution of the most advanced short -term projects and the launch of long -term initiatives, with the support of the European Defense Organization, the High Representative and the Commission. In this context, special attention should be paid to strategic factors and innovation in the field of defense in order to fully exploit the potential of new technologies.
The European Council encourages further work to enable the European Defense Industry, including SMEs and Medium Capital Enterprises, to increase production. Specifically, following the political agreement reached by the Council on the proposal for the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP), the European Council encourages co-inscriptions to quickly complete the negotiations. It also encourages them to quickly move on to the proposals of the “defense readiness frame”.
The European Council emphasizes that the defense of all EU land, air and marine borders contributes to the security of Europe as a whole, especially with regard to the EU’s eastern border, taking into account the threats posed by Russia and Belarus.
In addition, taking into account the threats to the rest of the EU border, the European Council emphasizes the importance of their defense.
It also calls on “the Commission and the High Representative to submit further proposals to strengthen military mobility, thereby allowing the effective movement of defense equipment and staff throughout the Union.
The European Council recalls that “a stronger and more capable European Union in the Security and Defense will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and complements NATO, which remains, for its Member States, the foundation of their collective defense.
The European Council emphasizes “the need to continue the significant increase in costs for Europe’s defense and security and to make better investments jointly, also noting the commitment they have made at the NATO Summit in June 2025 by NATO Member States.”