European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius today called on the European Parliament's ITRE Committee to urgently boost the EU's defence production capabilities, warning that Russia currently outpaces the bloc in output of missiles, artillery ammunition, and infantry vehicles. He framed the EU's defence industry as hindered by bureaucratic delays and a lack of long-term contracts, urging swift legislative progress to close the gap.
Kubilius advocated for rapid approval of the Defence Readiness (Simplification) Omnibus, which he first proposed in his structured dialogue with the SEDE Committee on April 15, 2026. The omnibus aims to simplify production permits and inter-EU transfer licenses that delay industry scaling, a priority he has consistently stressed as central to the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). He reiterated that reducing regulatory barriers is crucial for Member States to outproduce Russia and enhance deterrence, echoing his earlier call on April 15 for swift legislative action on the Defence Readiness Omnibus and military mobility regulations.
Introducing the AGILE initiative, Kubilius unveiled a €115 million pilot programme designed to accelerate funding for SMEs and startups delivering innovative defence technologies to meet urgent operational needs. AGILE promises fast, mission-driven support with simplified processes to deliver funding within four months, focusing on products that can be scaled quickly. This follows his April 16 commitment to ensure geographic fairness in EU defence funding post-European Defence Fund (EDF) concerns, and aligns with the €1.07 billion investment in 57 defence projects announced on April 15 under the 2025 EDF calls. Kubilius emphasized the need for swift agreement to operationalize AGILE by 2027.
On space policy, Kubilius stressed strengthening EU strategic autonomy by reducing dependency on U.S. strategic enablers, a theme he raised during the first EU-Japan Defence Industry Dialogue on April 17, where he highlighted security of supply and the newly established Security of Supply Board. He reiterated support for the European Space Act to manage space debris and establish a single market for space, advocating the maintenance and expansion of flagship programmes like Galileo, Copernicus, and IRIS² towards dual-use civil and defence applications. He urged the Parliament to uphold the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) budget at a minimum of €131 billion, with a proposed increase of €30 billion by the BUDG committee, to incentivize coordinated defence spending and prevent fragmentation—a call consistent with his broader push for a European Defence Union, which he proposed via a new intergovernmental treaty on April 17.
The speech underscores Kubilius' ongoing efforts to shift from fragmented national defence approaches to a more integrated EU framework, a direction that has sparked debate in the Parliament, as seen in the April 15 SEDE meeting where MEPs Janning and Avelino clashed over the extent of EU powers in security. Kubilius' proposals lean towards increasing EU-level regulation and financial commitment, challenging national sovereignty over defence industrial policies, while aiming to balance innovation for SMEs with scalability demands of large primes through structures like AGILE and the ECF.
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