Building the Europe of Defence

European Commissioner Thierry Breton, in charge of industrial policy, the internal market, digital, defense and space policy, presented a European Union action plan on February 22 in Brussels designed to "increase synergies between civil, space and defense".

This action plan resulted in the creation, for the first time at the European level, of a Defense Fund "endowed with just over one billion euros per year".

Its objective is to strengthen Europe's technological lead and support its industrial base by connecting the three dimensions: civil, space and defense.

"This Fund is part of a broader ambition to build a European defense, and complements the Pesco [permanent structured cooperation] and the strategic compass," considers Thierry Breton.

It is one of the commitments made by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, when she took office in December 2019.

Three actions in the spotlight

The action plan includes eleven "concrete actions".

They have not been listed, except for three that were highlighted by Thierry Breton: ensuring critical technologies, concentrating efforts on flagship projects such as UAVs, Space Traffic Management and satellite connectivity.

The latter refers to the feasibility study entrusted last December to a European consortium on a sovereign constellation.

"We are going to support innovation and in particular breakthrough innovation," he added, citing the beneficial effects for the Americans of the studies conducted within DARPA, the agency within the Department of Defense in charge of research and development of new technologies for military use.

This is a clear signal of our determination to ensure Europe's strategic autonomy and its place on the world stage," he concluded. Because Europe's weight in the next ten to twenty years will depend largely on its mastery of these technologies.

The European Commissioner has not detailed his idea of a European alliance around launchers.