Security and Defense: Europe’s Slow Path Back to Rearmament

Strengthening security and defense is a top priority for the new EU legislature. Russia’s war on Ukraine has exposed the weakened state of European militaries and defense industries as a result of underinvestment and reliance on the US. With the European security environment deteriorating and US priorities shifting, Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defense, balancing immediate support for Ukraine with rebuilding long-term readiness. It is time to turn the vision of the European Defense Union into reality. This depends on the willingness of member states to pool resources and engage in large-scale cooperative projects.

The recent report "Fit for War in Decades: Europe's and Germany's Slow Rearmament vis-à-vis Russia" highlights Germany’s sluggish progress in military procurement since 2020, in contrast to Russia's surging wartime defense production.

In this virtual panel discussion, hosted by the Kiel Institute and CEPR, report author Guntram Wolff (Kiel Institute) will discuss the state and strategy of European rearmament with Camille Grand (ECFR) and Nicole Koenig (MSC).

Camille Grand is a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He leads the organisation’s work on defence and disruptive technologies in European security. Previously, he worked as Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at NATO (2016-22), piloting NATO’s work in capability delivery, missile defence, and armament and technology cooperation.

Nicole Koenig is Head of Policy of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). She is an expert on EU foreign and security policy and Franco-German security cooperation. Before joining the MSC, she was Deputy Director of the Jacques Delors Centre at the Hertie School.

Guntram Wolff is a visiting scholar at the Kiel Institute, a senior fellow at Bruegel and a full-time professor of economics at the Université libre de Bruxelles. From 2022–2024, he was the Director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). From 2013–2022, he directed Bruegel, which under his leadership has become one of the top three global think tanks.