Watch out for the activities of the new Commission Directorate for ´Defence and Space´ under the helm of Andrius Kubilius, former member of the European Parliament and former Prime Minister of Lithuania. This marks the first dedicated Commission directorate with defence and space. No surprise, given the geopolitical framework and the importance of space for all other sectors – the latest discussions whether Europe could replace the Starlink network in Ukraine with its own capabilities illustrate the challenges. In the prior term both dossiers were still integrated in the portfolio of Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The directorate defence and space with the abbreviation DG DEFIS implements the Union’s space programme and ensures an innovative, and competitive defence industry. The merger of these portfolios reflects the increasingly contested nature of space and its overall links with security and defence.
Strategic Priorities and Immediate Implementation
Kubilius is responsible for the urgent strategic initiative preparing a white paper on the ´Future of European Defence´. This white paper was due within 100 days and is expected to be published during the second half of March. Other key policy files are the proposal for an EU Space Law and a Space Data Economy Strategy.
All expectations have been outlined in the mission letter by the Commission President to the new defence and space Commissioner. DG DEFIS is not short of strategic tasks:
- Preparing the White Paper on the Future of European Defence with the objective of framing a new approach to defence and identifying investment needs
- Working with Member States to strengthen military mobility by removing all remaining barriers
- Creating a true Single Market for Defence products and services, notably by making proposals to improve the integration of SMEs in supply chains
- Overseeing the implementation of the European Defence Industrial Strategy and the reinforcement of the European Defence Fund
- Addressing the EU’s vulnerabilities to cyber and hybrid attacks and building up our resilience and capacity to counter them
- Contributing to strengthen the EU-NATO partnership
- Leading the space portfolio by fostering a strong and innovative space industry, leading the work on a future proposal for an EU Space Law and by proposing a Space Data Economy Strategy
- Ensuring the implementation of the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence.
For the interested readers, you find the details of the DG DEFIS organisation chart here.
Interdependencies with the aerospace sector
Ramping up the European capabilities in defence and aligning the member states with respect to the geopolitical threats in line with the changing defence landscape significantly affects aerospace actors and stakeholders. The civil-military interdependencies and the role of air navigation services as national infrastructure will become more obvious.
Further interdependencies with the defence and space portfolio for the aerospace stakeholders to be noted:
- Dual use of transport infrastructure corridors,
- The need for swift movement of military personnel and their material,
- EU’s dual-use and civil-military potential across all relevant domains, exploiting legal and regulatory margins,
- Developing an airshield for Europe,
- Space law and space related use of data,
- Cyber security and cyber defence, and
- EU’s global and regional satellite navigation systems Galileo and EGNOS.
All these files will require a close cooperation of DG DEFIS with the Directorate DG MOVE, responsible for aviation, and all the stakeholders.
Budget Priorities and Funding Outlook
The discussions on funding priorities of the future EU budget of the European Commission are currently ramping up. We can expect intense negotiations, especially in light of the EU’s ambitious policy goals and the challenging geopolitical context. Almost every day the Commission is presenting new initiatives that aim to improve the EU’s competitiveness, sustainability, defence, security, and digital technology. The EC has issued on 29 January, 2025 the `Competitive Compass´ which will serve as a reference point for prioritisation.
The EU has an annual budgetary cycle and a long-term budget, which is known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). This multiannual planning provides for predictability of the EU expenditure, in particular for multiannual projects and policies. For the next MFF, covering 2028-2034, the Commission has launched on 12 February, 2025 the roadmap and a public consultation.
Visibility will be key
It will be vital for the aviation and aerospace sectors to communicate their importance as critical infrastructure and to be considered as industries highly relevant for European competitiveness, connectivity and achieving the decarbonisation targets. This is especially crucial to secure consideration in the future MFF and resulting public funding budgets.
The positioning of the air traffic management ecosystem might be challenging – being part of critical infrastructure however being a niche sector with little public visibility, compared to the big players in defence, tech and space.
Image source: ESA picture 43710_1
