Brussels – The European Commission’s “war room” goes active: this week, the chairwoman of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, chairs the first meeting of the security College, the new format chosen to focus exclusively on key priority issues in this area. Announced in early March, marking the first 100 days of her second term at the head of the Commission, the new collegial formation will be christened on Wednesday (April 16).
It should be remembered how “security” does not mean only and exclusively “defence.” The issue involves multiple realities: energy, trade, food, water, and, of course, defence. This issue was discussed by EU economic ministers at last week’s informal Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings (April 11 and 12), during which the topic of financing the defence industry was raised with the possibility of a specially dedicated European mechanism. It is fair to imagine that the first meeting of the Security College may also discuss this, as well as the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the subject of today’s foreign ministers’ meeting (April 14).
Von der Leyen has promised to hold regular “targeted” meetings on anything that may pose an existential challenge to the European Union and its member states. All-new needs explain the initiative of an all-new format. There is a need “to move to a mindset of preparedness,” is the message offered by the chairwoman of the community executive at the announcement of the new types of meetings. Von der Leyen’s conviction is that “extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” and the Security College responds to this imperative.
These and other defence-related issues will be discussed on April 15 in Rome in the Connact series event “Common European Defence: Financing and Industrial Integration.”
