European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius has said that "an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us", using a phrase normally reserved for NATO member states and Article 5 of the military alliance's founding treaty.
"We can still prevent catastrophe, we can still deter Russian aggression, prevent war and preserve peace," said Mr Kubilius, speaking in Warsaw at the start of a two-day informal meeting of EU defence chiefs.
Tomorrow, the bloc's defence ministers and chiefs of staff will discuss EU military aid for Ukraine and the contents of the EU's new White Paper on the future of European defence, published last month under Mr Kubilius's stewardship.
The proposed military aid package for Ukraine, an initiative of Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is understood to address Ukraine’s current need for greater ammunition reserves.
The informal meeting in the Polish capital follows key summits in Brussels last month during which EU member states gave their support to the European Commission’s 'ReArm Europe’ plan.
That plan, supported by all 27 member states, proposed a boost in spending of €800 billion on defence and security over the next four years across the bloc, €150bn of which may be borrowed through private loans, backed by the EU’s budget.
Mr Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister who was appointed last December as the EU’s first defence commissioner, has called for greater investment in Europe’s defence industry.
The White Paper, entitled 'Readiness 2030', addresses gaps in Europe’s military capabilities, including air defence and artillery systems, missiles, ammunition, drones and deep-strike weaponry.
"From now on, our priority is implementation, implementation, implementation," said Mr Kubilius, adding that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin "will only be deterred if we turn the White Paper into action".
The paper outlines key threats facing EU security and proposes ways for member states to improve their defence readiness to combat threats, as well as investment in the European defence industry.
It also broadly encompasses the Commission’s ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, including the €150bn proposed loan mechanism.
Russia, said Mr Kubilius, was producing more weapons in three months than all NATO members produce in one year.
He told delegates that more countries "should follow the example of Poland", referencing the Polish government’s commitment to spend 4.7% of GDP on defence this year.
Poland plans to double its military to half a million soldiers, including reservists, by introducing military training from this year for men of military age.
In 2024, the average expenditure on defence projects across the bloc was just under 2% of combined GDP.
"My main priority is to increase defence readiness," Hanno Pevkur, Estonia's defence minister, said on the sidelines of the meeting.
He added that his country would increase defence spending to more than 5% of GDP next year.
"We will acquire different capabilities in every domain, sea, land, air, cyber and electronic warfare.
"We don't have time in any capital to say that we won't spend more," said Mr Pevkur.
Ireland currently spends approximately 0.24% of GDP on defence, one of the lowest in the bloc.
However, the Government has indicated that it favours increasing defence expenditure to €3bn annually in the years to come, in line with a target entitled ‘Level of ambition 3’, originally set out by a Defence Forces commission in 2022.
That sum would amount to a doubling of the current expenditure target of €1.5bn set for 2028.
Ireland's delegation at the two-day meeting in Warsaw is being led by Secretary General of the Department of Defence Jacqui McCrum.
It is understood that Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov, and NATO’s deputy secretary-general Radmila Shekerinska will attend tomorrow’s discussions on military aid for Ukraine.
During the past three years since Russia's full-scale invasion, the EU has provided about €50bn in military aid to Ukraine, equivalent to less than 0.1% of the bloc’s combined GDP.
