Speakers
Session overview
Objectives
The rapid deterioration of Europe's security environment and growing uncertainty over the long-term US security commitment have fundamentally reshaped Europe's defence agenda. The challenge, however, is no longer simply to spend more, but to spend better, faster and together.
This session will examine how Europe can better mobilise public and private financing at the scale required to support its rearmament while strengthening the competitiveness, resilience and innovation capacity of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. It will explore how public authorities, the European Investment Bank, national promotional banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and private equity can better share risks, mobilise long-term capital and support investment throughout the defence value chain, from research and innovation to industrial production and supply-chain financing.
The discussion will also assess whether Europe's current financial architecture is sufficient to support the emergence of a genuine European defence market. Participants will be invited to consider how EU financial instruments—including EDF, SAFE, EDIP, InvestEU and EIB financing—could be better coordinated with defence procurement policies, how regulatory and prudential frameworks could facilitate investment, and what additional governance or industrial measures may be required to transform fragmented national rearmament efforts into a coherent European defence investment strategy.
Points of discussion
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How should the financing of Europe's rearmament be shared and structured between public authorities and private capital — and what conditions (risk-sharing mechanisms, dedicated vehicles such as SPVs, an adapted prudential framework, supply-chain and equity instruments) would allow private actors to deploy at the required scale, including across the DTIB supply chain?
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Is the European Union prepared to build a genuine integrated defence market – through coordinated demand, joint procurement, a European preference and strengthened, stabilised EU instruments – or will it remain primarily a coordinator of fragmented national efforts?