European Commission unveils roadmap to achieve EU defense readiness by 2030

BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) presented on Thursday a defense roadmap to achieve full defense readiness across the EU by 2030.

The roadmap, titled "Preserving Peace - Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030," was presented jointly by the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

It sets out objectives to close capability gaps, accelerate defense investment among member states, and steer the EU towards full defense readiness by 2030.

According to the roadmap, achieving full defense readiness means ensuring that EU member states' armed forces can anticipate, prepare for and respond effectively to any defense-related crisis, including high-intensity warfare.

The roadmap identifies four flagship projects to achieve the target: the European Drone Defence Initiative, the Eastern Flank Watch, the European Air Shield, and the European Space Shield, designed to bolster deterrence and defense across land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains.

It urges member states to form "capability coalitions" in nine critical areas, including air and missile defense; strategic enablers; military mobility; artillery systems; cyber, AI and electronic warfare; missiles and ammunition; drones and counter-drones; ground combat, and maritime forces.

The document also outlines steps to make Europe's defense supply chain more resilient and reduce reliance on critical raw materials and inputs.

According to the roadmap, by 2027, the EU aims to establish an EU-wide military mobility area to allow troops and equipment to move swiftly across borders under harmonized rules and transport networks. By 2030, the bloc seeks to create a EU-wide defense equipment market, with efforts focused on tracking production capacity and shortening delivery times.

The roadmap builds on the "ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030" initiative published in March, and will be discussed at next week's EU summit. ■