Defence Archives

European countries have long counted army wages and infrastructure financing into their national defence spending.

Sweden is ramping up Baltic defences with a €790M German air system to shield Gotland - its most vulnerable outpost - from drones, jets and missiles.

Allies, ambitions, and arguments - what to watch when NATO leaders gather in The Hague this week.

Euractiv's defence newsletter goes daily for a major week of summits. In this edition: Latest NATO news, a first look at the EU’s Space Law, how defence features in Denmark’s EU Council presidency plans, and more.

Pedro Sánchez secures NATO deal letting Spain cap defence spending at 2.1%, dodging pressure to match higher targets.

The EU maintains its mantra that diplomacy should take precedence over military action.

American involvement marks a serious escalation in the war in the Middle East.

Josep Borrell suggested NATO members are trying to please Trump by agreeing an 'arbitrary' spending goal.

Guido Crosetto argued that NATO must adjust to a more global reality, and that the alliance in its current form "no longer has any reason to exist".

Euractiv's new weekly defence newsletter. In this edition: Looking forward to a big week of summits, digging into EU defence initiatives and wrapping up the Paris Air Show.

The EU and Britain outspend Russia on defence – but clunky procurement, high prices and limited production mean Europe is still years away from countering the threat, two prominent think tanks find.

“Capabilities are paid for with euros, not GDP percentages,” Pedro Sánchez wrote in a letter to NATO chief Mark Rutte.

The move is about ensuring that "our children and grandchildren won’t have to speak Russian", says Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson.

Using an emergency clause to bypass MEPs was to address an "existential challenge," the Commission president wrote to Roberta Metsola in a letter seen by Euractiv.

“We’re also incrementally increasing our capacity in the United States, but the real step function is the German capacity," Tom Laliberty, the head of land and air-defence systems, said.

Italy eyes Austrian-style reserve corps as it scrambles to boost troop numbers and hit NATO’s defence spending goal.

Eight people were detained on Wednesday amid an investigation led by European prosecutors, with the ex-minister dismissing his attempted arrest as "political theatre".

A letter from 10 EU countries complains about rules against buying for defence firms based outside the bloc.

That would mark the first time all of NATO has reached the mark. The allies are now deep in talks to raise it higher.

Sources tell Euractiv that EU countries have found compromise on the Commission's major defence industry initiative.

An eagerly awaited EU "defence omnibus" to cut red tape for the arms industry largely delivers smaller tweaks – but promises more sweeping revisions next year.

Sources tell Euractiv that capitals have committed as much as €1 billion to extend the EU's ASAP subsidy programme for boosting ammunition production in Europe.

"It is about both Russian investments in nuclear weapons capability and the development of a new doctrine," the country's defence minister said.

The number of nuclear warheads in the world, on the decline since the Cold War, is forecast to start rising again in coming years.