European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius acknowledged that the European Defence Agency cannot provide a comprehensive analysis of collaborative defence procurement because only 12 of 27 member states reported their data for 2024-2025. In a written answer to a parliamentary question from MEP Hannah Neumann (Verts/ALE), Kubilius stated that this reporting gap makes it impossible to adequately assess progress towards the voluntary benchmarks set in the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) adopted in March 2024.
The EDIS set targets for 2030: at least 40% of defence equipment procured collaboratively, 50% of defence investments sourced within the EU (rising to 60% by 2035), and intra-EU defence trade reaching 35% of the EU defence market value. Kubilius noted that currently around 40% of member states' defence expenditure goes to the US Foreign Military Sales mechanism, while less than 50% of procurement is sourced inside the EU.
Kubilius highlighted several EU initiatives to support collaborative procurement, including the EDIRPA regulation (EUR 300 million leveraging over EUR 11 billion in collaborative purchases), the SAFE instrument, and the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). However, he conceded that both SAFE and EDIP are in early implementation stages and their impact cannot yet be measured. The Defence Readiness Omnibus proposal, presented in 2025, aims to simplify procedures for common procurement.
On intra-EU defence trade, Kubilius pointed to member states' export reports and announced that the Commission will present a report in 2026 evaluating Directive 2009/43/EC on intra-EU transfers of defence-related products.
The answer reveals a cleavage between the Commission's ambition to increase EU defence integration and the reality of member states' reluctance to share data and shift procurement away from non-EU suppliers. Positive impacts include the potential for greater EU strategic autonomy and a stronger European defence industrial base if benchmarks are met. Negative impacts include continued fragmentation, reliance on US suppliers, and the risk that voluntary targets remain unenforceable without better data and stronger incentives.