Simplification, the defence Omnibus arrives. Kubilius: “We are not at war, but neither are we at peace”

Brussels – Simplification is also coming to the defence sector. The European Commission has unveiled its proposal to clarify (and if possible streamline) the regulatory framework that it has put in place so far, to enable Member States and companies to move more smoothly and with greater predictability in an area that, given the new geopolitical winds, has become a priority.

The new Omnibus package, the fifth, was presented this afternoon (17 June) by three Commissioners at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg: Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, responsible for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Economy, and Andrius Kubilius, responsible for Defence and Space.

The objective remains the same: to stimulate defence spending in the Member States, ensuring the Union can respond promptly to crises, particularly in a context where continental security is rapidly deteriorating. The framework is set out in the White Paper on Defence and Preparedness presented last March.

“We are cutting red tape to help Member States and industry act faster, invest smarter and strengthen our collective deterrence,” Virkkunen said. A clarification of current rules—e.g. on competition, company mergers, state aid, environment, chemicals and banned weapons categories—to be accompanied, where possible, by a process of deregulation aimed at accelerating both public and private investment in the sector and facilitating access to EU funding.

Among other things, the package presented today will introduce an accelerated authorisation regime for defence-related projects, reducing the duration of the process to 60 days (currently, authorisation can take several years to arrive). Joint procurement should also be facilitated within the framework of the €150 billion SAFE fund, also aiming to accelerate cross-border transfers of defence-related products.

At the same time, the aim will be to reduce the administrative burden for applicants and participants in the European Defence Fund (EDF), participation in which will also be facilitated for Ukrainian entities and companies, enabling them to proceed on the path of integrating the Kyiv military industry with the twelve-star one. Finally, access to European funding will be improved by simplifying the eligibility criteria.

For Dombrovskis, it is a matter of “relieving Europe’s enormous economic burden” to establish “a defence industrial and technological capability,” and also, in the long run, “discourage potential threats” from outside.

On the irreversible change of the continental security architecture, Kubilius also spent a few words. The EU “is not at war,” he assured, but “we are no longer at peace.” And therefore, one can no longer reason with a mentality that was good for the times of ‘absolute peace’. He cites the intelligence reports of several member states (the Baltic and Scandinavian countries in the lead), according to which “Russia will have the capacity to launch an attack in the next three to five years against a NATO or EU country.”

“We do not want to be alarmists,” he emphasises, “but we must act according to how the world is and not how we would like it to be.” The only way to guarantee European peace is to make sure that we are ready to defend ourselves credibly and quickly,” he argues. Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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