Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Europe must move faster to close critical defence capability gaps as the security threat continues to rise.
Speaking during the press conference Q&A after the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Druids Glen, County Wicklow, Ireland, Kallas explained the purpose of a new high-level defence group being launched next week.
She said most EU Member States are also members of NATO, and that gaps in conventional power inside NATO mean European countries must invest in the capabilities needed to defend the continent.
Kallas warned that Europe has not been fast enough, even as the threat level is rising.
The goal, she said, is to bring together the “brightest minds” from beyond institutions to focus not only on identifying the gaps, but on how to fill them in the shortest possible timeframe and in the most effective way.
Ukraine will be included because of its battlefield experience and lessons from the war.
Kallas said the group should provide practical ideas to Member States and EU institutions on how Europe can act better, faster and with tangible results.
Europe’s challenge is no longer theoretical: it must close defence gaps, strengthen NATO’s European pillar and turn higher defence spending into real capability.
#eudebates #Kallas #EUDefence #NATO
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Europe must move faster to close critical defence capability gaps as the security threat continues to rise.
Speaking during the press conference Q&A after the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Druids Glen, County Wicklow, Ireland, Kallas explained the purpose of a new high-level defence group being launched next week.
She said most EU Member States are also members of NATO, and that gaps in conventional power inside NATO mean European countries must invest in the capabilities needed to defend the continent.
Kallas warned that Europe has not been fast enough, even as the threat level is rising.
The goal, she said, is to bring together the “brightest minds” from beyond institutions to focus not only on identifying the gaps, but on how to fill them in the shortest possible timeframe and in the most effective way.
Ukraine will be included because of its battlefield experience and lessons from the war.
Kallas said the group should provide practical ideas to Member States and EU institutions on how Europe can act better, faster and with tangible results.
Europe’s challenge is no longer theoretical: it must close defence gaps, strengthen NATO’s European pillar and turn higher defence spending into real capability.
#eudebates #Kallas #EUDefence #NATO
