From Ambition to Action: Building Europe’s Defence Union
How can Europe turn its ambition for strategic sovereignty into action? Ahead of the 2025 NATO Summit, this key question was at the heart of the EFA365 event in Brussels.
On the day of the EU Foreign Affairs Council and in the immediate lead-up to the pivotal 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, the EFA365 event “From Ambition to Action: Building Europe’s Defence Union” offered a timely moment for strategic reflection in Brussels. At its core was the question of how the European Union can take meaningful steps towards greater sovereignty and readiness in defence.
Hosted at the premises of the Land Salzburg Europabüro, the event was organised by the European Forum Alpbach in cooperation with Club Alpbach Belgium Brussels (CABB) and Friends of Europe. It brought societal concerns and institutional developments into one shared conversation.
Security as a Societal Concern
The debate was preceded by Julie Malaize of the Debating Europe team at Friends of Europe, who presented findings from a recent study exploring public expectations around security and institutional trust. Her insights highlighted how security has become a matter of public concern, not just institutional debate. These findings are part of the “Voices for Choices” initiative by Friends of Europe and Debating Europe, which gathers citizen perspectives from across Europe on key policy issues. Read the full report here: Voices for Choices - Europe’s next chapter starts with its youngest voices - Debating Europe.
The conversation was opened by Othmar Karas, President of the European Forum Alpbach. He provided initial reflections on Europe’s current strategic challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead in a changing global environment. A central focus of the event was public resilience, democratic legitimacy, and the societal foundations of a credible defence union.
A Turning Point for European Defence
The discussion then turned to the EU’s evolving defence architecture. Topics included the Draghi and Niinistö reports, the White Paper on Defence, the “Readiness 2030” plan, and proposals for a European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS).
Expert contributions came from Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow for Peace, Security and Defence at Friends of Europe and former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO who also moderated the discussion, as well as Gerlinde Niehus, Director of the Brussels Freedom Hub and long-time NATO communications expert, who provided insights on Europe’s strategic challenges amid a shift in US priorities and public resilience.
The session concluded with a Framing Intervention by Isabelle Arradon, Director of Research at the International Crisis Group, who enriched the conversation with insights from her work as Head of Research and the ICG's CrisisWatch and provided an external perspective on Europe’s Role in the World amidst geopolitical realignment and the polycrisis.
Strategic Sovereignty Requires Coordinated Action
One message resonated clearly: building a credible European Defence Union is not just an aspiration, but a strategic necessity. It was therefore agreed that a whole-of-society approach must be adopted to ensure legitimacy and proper resilience in times of crisis.
EFA365: Year-round Policy Debates
The event is part of the EFA365 initiative, where the European Forum Alpbach organises discussions throughout the year in Vienna, Berlin, Brussels, Munich, The Hague, Innsbruck and other cities. The goal is to deepen key security policy topics continuously, preparing for the Forum's debates in August.
The Security Track at the European Forum Alpbach 2025 will also focus on the topics of the event as they cover questions needed to reach the EU's climate targets.
The topics of the Security Track at the EFA25:
- Europe in the World Days (23-26 August): Geopolitical Realignment: Asserting Europe's Role in a Contested World of Power Politics
- Austria in Europe Days (26-29 August): Towards a European Defence Union: Goals, Roles and Responsibilities