The European Council and defence cooperation: Overview of debates and way forward

Summary:

European defence cooperation has been a 'rolling' item on the European Council's agenda for the past decade and will continue to feature high as the new Strategic Compass is being implemented. Russia's war on Ukraine has altered the European security architecture, accelerating cooperation in defence, a policy area where the European Council has shown both commitment, by issuing periodic policy guidelines and following up on them, and continuity, by maintaining the topic on its agenda on a regular basis. With the adoption of the Versailles declaration of 10 11 March 2022, EU leaders positioned investment, capabilities, the defence industry and the defence market at the core of their current debate on European defence cooperation.

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