Andrius Kubilius: “Europe has the potential to become a defence giant"

Plenary speech of the European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius from the EDA Annual Conference on 28 January 2026 in Brussels. The Commissioner argued that Europe’s historic surge in defence investment must now translate into real capabilities, stressing that security crises have repeatedly strengthened the EU and that today’s threat environment demands far greater European responsibility for defence. He made the case that independence in defence means acting together—within the EU, NATO, and with Ukraine—by scaling up joint procurement, strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base, and developing capabilities where fragmentation has left critical gaps. Details: https://eda.europa.eu/news-and-events... Text version of the speech: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/press... #strongertogether #eudefence #EDAconf