The newest in the EU Policy Brief Series, “European Defence in the Face of War”, is written by Dr. Chantal Lavallée, Associate Professor at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean and Visiting Scholar at Carleton University (2025-2026). She discusses the changing European Union (EU) defence strategy. Read the EU Policy Brief here.
In the years before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, Dr. Lavallée defines the recent challenges which led the EU to bring forward a new European defence strategy – Brexit, the United States’ diminishing support for Europe’s defence and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. The EU’s Strategic Compass in 2022 set forth a goal of building European defence capabilities to protect the EU.
Dr. Lavallée’s shares her insights which draw upon the new White Paper for European Defence— Readiness 2030, presented by the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in March 2025, which identifies capability requirements and proposes financial mechanisms to support Europe’s rearmament. She notes the signifigance of the White Paper in outlining two ‘roadmaps’ as strategies to address the occurrences of violations of European air space and the European defence industry preparing for modern warfare with drones and new disruptive technologies. Dr. Lavallée provides key findings and includes her insights on the policy implications.
The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence publishes a series of policy briefs from experts and scholars which address prominent policy issues facing the EU-Canada relationship.
Read more in the EU Policy Briefs Series here.
The European Commission’s support for the production of these publications does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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