The EU's Commitment to Increased Defense Spending

EU Defense Night is the European Union Delegation’s annual flagship convening in Washington, D.C., showcasing the EU’s expanding role in the defense domain. Now in its third year, it brings together hundreds of national and state policymakers, defense and space industry leaders, investors and venture capitalists, policy experts, and media from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss opportunities in European defense and space production, as well as EU-U.S. defense and security cooperation.

In 2026, as the EU is preparing a new European Security Strategy, the EU Delegation will partner with industry stakeholders, and the European Investment Bank Group to spotlight emerging defense initiatives enabled by the new EU instruments and EU Member State financial commitments. The event will highlight opportunities for business collaboration, explore cutting-edge technologies and lessons learned from Ukraine, and reaffirm the importance of EU-U.S. partnership.

See more from the 2024 and 2025 editions.

Upholding peace in Europe lies at the heart of the European project. For the EU and its Member States, that means taking greater responsibility for our own defense. The latest part of that effort is the White Paper for European Defense – Readiness 2030, which was unveiled by the European Commission in March 2025. The plan calls for a more than $910 million investment in new weapons and technology by the end of the decade.

"So you ask, what is our strategy?

"There are three things we now need to do and are doing: a) support Ukraine and integrate with Ukraine; b) from slow and low “haute couture” production to massive “good enough” production; c) [an] integrated, effective European defence market.

"To start with, the first goal - we must continue to support Ukraine, so Ukraine can continue to prevail. And we must integrate European and Ukrainian military and industrial capabilities.

"This we are doing with the Ukraine support loan. By giving Ukraine access to the European Defence Fund. With the Drone Alliance we are setting up with Ukraine. And BraveTech EU: Ukrainian and European companies finding solutions to battlefield challenges.

"But we need to do much more, go much further."

Read the full speech here.

Europe is delivering on defense.

One year after announcing an unprecedented effort to strengthen Europe's security and defense industrial base, EU Ambassador to the United States Jovita Neliupšienė reflects on the progress made—and why a stronger European defense means a stronger NATO and greater opportunities for transatlantic cooperation.

Read the Ambassador's latest op-ed, published in Defense News.

At the heart of the EU’s commitment to defense spending is investment in state-of-the-art equipment that prepares the continent for future threats. That includes drones and counter drone-systems, air and missile defence capabilities, as well as investment in AI, quantum, cyber, and electronic warfare capabilities. You can learn more about the EU’s defense proposals and read the Q&A on the White Paper.

Did you know that the European Union is the top customer of the U.S. defense industry, with a 35% share of all U.S. defense exports? Furthermore, more than 50% of EU defense equipment is procured from the United States. The EU’s unveiled defense plans offer unprecedented opportunities for further partnerships with U.S. defense companies, with new financial guidelines allowing for more flexible funding and investment for EU Member States. Learn more here. 

"In this geostrategic and geopolitical environment, we need a massive surge in defence investment. And here, the European Union is indeed massively stepping up." —European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

Watch President von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s conversation at the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.