or the first time, the European Union has a commissioner for defense. At the beginning of December, a new College of Commissioners will take office, among them Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius. Kubilius is the first person to hold the post of “European Commissioner for Defense and Space.” What does this mean for the future of European defense and what can be expected from the new commissioner?
Kubilius’ background
Andrius Kubilius is not a newcomer to Brussels. For the past five years, he served as a member of the European Parliament. There, he was among others a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and acted as the Parliament’s rapporteur on Russia. Familiarity with Brussels might be helpful in his new position as Commissioner. Kubilius is also a former prime minister of Lithuania, having held the position from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Kubilius and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, both hail from the Baltic states and see eye to eye on the security challenges the EU faces, and are keenly aware of the threat Russia poses to Europe’s security architecture.
Only a political symbol?
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, first proposed the idea of a commissioner for defense at the beginning of the year. For a long time, it remained somewhat unclear what the actual responsibilities of such a commissioner would be. The College of Commissioners comprises 27 members, one from each European Union member state. Each one is given a different portfolio. However, given the high number of commissioners, not every portfolio is equal. The portfolio of trade, for example, is much more powerful than the portfolio of intergenerational fairness. Additionally, there are areas in which the Commission can wield significant influence and those in which it cannot. While all trade decisions are taken at the European level, according to the EU treaties, defense falls under the purview of the member states, with the only exception being the European defense industry. Some feared that a commissioner of defense would be a mere political symbol, with no relevant authorities.
For Ursula von der Leyen, proposing this new position was and is a way of stressing her focus on defense in the next mandate. It is also a signal to European Union member states, the defense industry, and external partners that Europe takes defense seriously. That does not change the fact, however, that the European Commission has only a limited role to play when it comes to defense. Creating this new position is one way the Commission can do something.
The defense commissioner’s portfolio
For the next five years, Kubilius will focus on the European defense industry—the commercial industry involved in the production of military material, equipment, and facilities. The industry is fragmented and inefficient, and the associated challenges are enough to keep him busy. In her mission letter to him, Ursula von der Leyen outlined her ambition for Europeans to “spend more, spend better, spend European,” but currently, Europe is far away from this vision. EU member states do not plan in a coordinated way and spend their defense budgets separately from each other. Many member states buy military equipment off–the–shelf from non–EU partners, such as the United States.
There is widespread agreement that a joint approach to defense spending would strengthen the European Union. The volatile global security environment, especially the war against Ukraine, has further demonstrated the urgency of the matter. The difficulties European countries have had in providing military assistance to Ukraine have exposed many gaps in the European defense industry. But building a common approach to defense is easier said than done. Over recent years, there has been a flurry of strategies, initiatives, and programs with one goal: Incentivize European Union member states to cooperate more closely. But a true European Defense Union remains a lofty vision for now. Could the new EU defense commissioner finally make it a reality?
Andrius Kubilius certainly seems ready to face the task head–on. Even before being confirmed in his new position, he made headlines by proposing obligatory ammunition stockpiles and publicly backing the idea of joint borrowing for defense purposes. In his first 100 days in office, Kubilius is tasked with presenting a white paper outlining Europe’s defense investment needs and how the Commission can help meet those. This paper will set the pace for the work of the coming five years.
Given the state of global affairs and the war in Ukraine, finding a joint European approach to defense is more important than ever. While everyone agrees with this in theory, it has proven challenging in practice to overcome the fragmentation of the European defense industry. Security and defense have never been as central to a Commission as the incoming one. Whether Kubilius can transform this momentum into a true European Defense Union remains to be seen.
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A step toward a true European Defense Union?
Image via European Union on Flickr. Soldiers carry the EU flag at the opening of the 2014–2019 EU Parliamentary term. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
January 9, 2025
The European Union has its first ever commissioner for defense, but what does this mean and what can we expect from the new commissioner? YPFP’s Christina Keßler explores.
F
or the first time, the European Union has a commissioner for defense. At the beginning of December, a new College of Commissioners will take office, among them Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius. Kubilius is the first person to hold the post of “European Commissioner for Defense and Space.” What does this mean for the future of European defense and what can be expected from the new commissioner?
Kubilius’ background
Andrius Kubilius is not a newcomer to Brussels. For the past five years, he served as a member of the European Parliament. There, he was among others a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and acted as the Parliament’s rapporteur on Russia. Familiarity with Brussels might be helpful in his new position as Commissioner. Kubilius is also a former prime minister of Lithuania, having held the position from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Kubilius and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, both hail from the Baltic states and see eye to eye on the security challenges the EU faces, and are keenly aware of the threat Russia poses to Europe’s security architecture.
Only a political symbol?
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, first proposed the idea of a commissioner for defense at the beginning of the year. For a long time, it remained somewhat unclear what the actual responsibilities of such a commissioner would be. The College of Commissioners comprises 27 members, one from each European Union member state. Each one is given a different portfolio. However, given the high number of commissioners, not every portfolio is equal. The portfolio of trade, for example, is much more powerful than the portfolio of intergenerational fairness. Additionally, there are areas in which the Commission can wield significant influence and those in which it cannot. While all trade decisions are taken at the European level, according to the EU treaties, defense falls under the purview of the member states, with the only exception being the European defense industry. Some feared that a commissioner of defense would be a mere political symbol, with no relevant authorities.
For Ursula von der Leyen, proposing this new position was and is a way of stressing her focus on defense in the next mandate. It is also a signal to European Union member states, the defense industry, and external partners that Europe takes defense seriously. That does not change the fact, however, that the European Commission has only a limited role to play when it comes to defense. Creating this new position is one way the Commission can do something.
The defense commissioner’s portfolio
For the next five years, Kubilius will focus on the European defense industry—the commercial industry involved in the production of military material, equipment, and facilities. The industry is fragmented and inefficient, and the associated challenges are enough to keep him busy. In her mission letter to him, Ursula von der Leyen outlined her ambition for Europeans to “spend more, spend better, spend European,” but currently, Europe is far away from this vision. EU member states do not plan in a coordinated way and spend their defense budgets separately from each other. Many member states buy military equipment off–the–shelf from non–EU partners, such as the United States.
There is widespread agreement that a joint approach to defense spending would strengthen the European Union. The volatile global security environment, especially the war against Ukraine, has further demonstrated the urgency of the matter. The difficulties European countries have had in providing military assistance to Ukraine have exposed many gaps in the European defense industry. But building a common approach to defense is easier said than done. Over recent years, there has been a flurry of strategies, initiatives, and programs with one goal: Incentivize European Union member states to cooperate more closely. But a true European Defense Union remains a lofty vision for now. Could the new EU defense commissioner finally make it a reality?
Andrius Kubilius certainly seems ready to face the task head–on. Even before being confirmed in his new position, he made headlines by proposing obligatory ammunition stockpiles and publicly backing the idea of joint borrowing for defense purposes. In his first 100 days in office, Kubilius is tasked with presenting a white paper outlining Europe’s defense investment needs and how the Commission can help meet those. This paper will set the pace for the work of the coming five years.
Given the state of global affairs and the war in Ukraine, finding a joint European approach to defense is more important than ever. While everyone agrees with this in theory, it has proven challenging in practice to overcome the fragmentation of the European defense industry. Security and defense have never been as central to a Commission as the incoming one. Whether Kubilius can transform this momentum into a true European Defense Union remains to be seen.
