In their mission letters from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the High Representative/Vice-President, Kaja Kallas, were tasked with preparing a White Paper on the Future of European Defence within the first 100 days of their mandate.

To support this effort, the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies has created this non-paper, which builds on the analysis presented in the publication “7Ds – Defence Extended.” This document compiles key ideas and policy recommendations from the Centre’s work, offering innovative and well-researched proposals to help develop the European Defence Union.

The Martens Centre’s proposal emphasises the need for the European Union and its member states to prepare for “the most extreme military contingencies.” It focuses on five critical areas: enhancing defence production capabilities, fostering defence innovation, improving military mobility, addressing strategic capability gaps, and effectively financing European defence.