Name: Committee on Security and Defence Extraordinary Meeting: Exchange of views with Commissioner Kubilius
Uploaded: 2026-10-01T08:02:15+00:00
Duration: 6751 s

00:04 - 02:10

Redner 3

Good morning, colleagues. Thank you very much for coming nearly on time. Our first point is the adaptation of the agenda. If there are no amendments, the agenda of the meeting can be adopted. So I submit for approval the minutes of the meetings held on the 14th and the 15th July 2026.

Do you have any comments? If there are no comments, the minutes are deemed approved. Dear colleagues, it's my pleasure to welcome back the Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius. Commissioner, the State of the Union made very clear that defense is now firmly at the top of Europe's agenda. Your progress report shows that quite a lot has moved in a relatively short time.

EDIP is in force, the Defense Readiness Omnibus and EDGEL have been agreed. Two days ago, the Council approved five European defense projects of common interest. And on military mobility, the Parliament wants to finish the file by December, hopefully. At the same time, there is still a good deal of frustration in this committee, particularly with the obstacles we continue to encounter in the Council when we try to move things forward. I raised this in an informal meeting of defense ministers in Wicklow and again yesterday with the EU Military Committee.

We still see too much distance between what we agree here in Brussels and what actually happens in the capitals. We create the instruments, but member states are reluctant to use them together or to move at the speed that the situation requires. So we would like to hear from you today about what comes next, first among the initiatives already announced, and second, what can be done to narrow the gap between decisions taken at European level and implementation in the capitals. Commissioner, dear Andrius, the floor is yours.

02:10 - 05:24

Redner 1

Well, thanks a lot, Madam Chair. Good morning to everybody. Really, it's big pleasure to come back to SEDE as always. I am grateful really for what I would call great partnership. And first of all, of course, I have sent you my annual implementation report.

And of course, I welcome very much your report on Common Security and Defense Policy and on institutional aspects of the Common European Defense Union, which are coming, so very important. Definitely, a lot of things are happening in European defense. And it's really quite difficult to cover everything in detail. So today I will focus on what I call four topics. First of all, State of the Union address, then Ukraine, third one, material defense readiness on our side, and our space for defense agenda.

I will, my statement can be very telegraphic in, you know, just mentioning what's going on. Now on State of the Union address. I will maybe share my own personal evaluation and personal opinion. In my view, this statement of Commission President is an important breakthrough in European defense, especially in what I call institutional defense readiness pillar.

Two most important quotes. And the first one I quote: "Our defense doctrine, our institutions and our decision-making have not kept pace with the new reality." And second quote: "This is why we will set out our ideas to make European Security Council with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine and the United Kingdom a reality." Well, in my opinion, this is a call what I what you know I name for a big bang in institutional defense readiness. And that is very important.

And thanks a lot again for your report on the institutional aspects of European Defense Union, for your initiatives, informal cross-party group to support European Defense Union, including European Security Council. So that is how this big bang, in my view, was born and how it will become a reality, which really I hope and I'm sure that it will be very much needed. In my personal view, the establishment of an European Security Council and an European Defense Union are very closely interlinked. To make our defense institutions fit for the new security reality, as Commission President was speaking, and fit for NATO 3.0, we urgently need a new European defense architecture to resolve two major issues. The first issue, an expanding geographical basis for this new architecture.

European Defense Union on equal footing should include not only EU member states, but also partners like the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Norway and Canada, and especially Ukraine. Second, the capability to effectively take decisions. That is why we need, in my personal opinion, an E5-type European Security Council. I was elaborating that, you know, earlier. And such kind of council could serve as leadership body for the European Defense Union, which could work together with a broader general assembly of all the members of European Defense Union.