PARIS — Far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen has criticized France’s participation in European defense programs, arguing they’re a waste of money that should be spent on the country’s military instead. “[French President Emmanuel] Macron has consistently encouraged European institutions to interfere in our defense policy,” she told French lawmakers on Wednesday. Slamming the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility — two EU-level defense funding and coordination initiatives — and industrial defense projects between France and Germany, she said: “A great deal of public money has been wasted and precious years have been lost, for our manufacturers, for our armed forces and for the French people.” Le Pen was speaking in the National Assembly during a debate about boosting France’s defense budget. Some 411 MPs of the 522 lawmakers present voted in favor of increasing military expenditures — although the Greens and the Socialists warned they won’t let social spending suffer as a result. The far-right National Rally has an anti-EU agenda and is wary of defense industrial cooperation with Germany. Le Pen criticized Macron’s proposal this past summer to enter into a strategic dialogue with European countries on how France’s nuclear deterrent could contribute to Europe’s security. She also slammed the Future Air Combat System, a project to build a next-generation fighter jet with Germany and Spain, describing it as a “blatant failure.” She hinted she would axe the program if she won power in France’s next presidential elections, scheduled for 2027, along with another initiative to manufacture a next-generation battle tank with Berlin, known as the Main Ground Combat System. Le Pen claimed that France’s military planning law was contributing to EU funds that were, in turn, being spent on foreign defense contractors. “Cutting national defense budgets to create a European defense system actually means financing American, Korean or Israeli defense companies,” she said. Marine Le Pen criticized Emmanuel Macron’s proposal this past summer to enter into a strategic dialogue with European countries on how France’s nuclear deterrent could contribute to Europe’s security. | Pool Photo by Sebastien Bozon via Getty Images The French government has long pushed for Buy European clauses to be attached to the use of EU money, with mixed results. “[European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen did not hear you, or perhaps did not listen to you, promising to purchase large quantities of American weapons in the unfair trade agreement with President [Donald] Trump,” Le Pen declared. In reality, the EU-U.S. trade deal agreed earlier this year contains no legally binding obligation to buy U.S. arms.

BRUSSELS — EU countries have five years to prepare for war, according to a military plan that will be presented by the European Commission on Thursday and was seen by POLITICO. “By 2030, Europe needs a sufficiently strong European defence posture to credibly deter its adversaries, as well as respond to any aggressions,” says the draft plan, which will be discussed by defense ministers late Wednesday before being presented to the College of Commissioners on Thursday. It goes to EU leaders next week. The Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 is a sign of the EU’s growing role in military affairs, a reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unclear commitment to European security. “A militarised Russia poses a persistent threat to European security for the foreseeable  future,” says the document, which was first reported by Bloomberg. While EU countries are rapidly increasing their defense budgets, much of that spending “remains overwhelmingly national, leading to fragmentation, cost-inflation and lack of  interoperability,” says the 16-page document. The EU executive body is pushing capitals to buy weapons together and wants at least 40 percent of defense procurement to be joint contracts by the end of 2027 — up from less than a fifth now. The roadmap also sets targets for at least 55 percent of arms purchases to come from EU and Ukrainian companies by 2028 and at least 60 percent by 2030. SETTING PRIORITIES The document goes point by point through a series of priorities. One of its main objectives is to fill EU capability gaps in nine areas: air and missile defense, enablers, military mobility, artillery systems, AI and cyber, missile and ammunition, drones and anti-drones, ground combat, and maritime. The plan also mentions areas like defense readiness and the role of Ukraine, which would be heavily armed and supported to become a “steel porcupine” able to deter Russian aggression. It also includes timelines for three key projects: the Eastern Flank Watch, which will integrate ground defense systems with air defense and counter-drone systems and the “European Drone Wall” recently proposed by the Commission to better protect eastern countries; the European Air Shield to create a multi-layered air defense system; and a Defence Space Shield to protect the bloc’s space assets. The Commission hopes EU leaders will approve those three projects by the end of the year. To be ready by 2030, according to the draft roadmap, projects in all priority areas should be launched in the first half of 2026. By the end of 2028, projects, contracts and financing should be in place to tackle the most urgent gaps. The Commission also wants to map the industrial capacity ramp-up needed to fill the gaps and identify supply chain risks and bottlenecks in critical raw materials. That could prove controversial, as European industry has been traditionally reluctant to share too much information about production and supply chains with Brussels. FINDING THE MONEY The document says the EU will help mobilize up to €800 billion to spend on defense, including the €150 billion loans-for-weapons SAFE program, the €1.5 billion European Defence Industrial Programme — which is still under negotiation — the European Defence Fund and, once it’s adopted in 2027, the bloc’s next multi-year budget. It underlines that countries will remain in control, stressing that “member States are and will remain sovereign for their national defence.” Despite that careful language, some member countries are bridling at the EU’s playing a greater role in defense — traditionally an area reserved for national governments. “The overriding objective must be to prepare the conditions so that Member States can fulfil their national and international capability objectives,” Germany said in its official contribution to the EU’s Readiness 2030 Roadmap. Sweden’s contribution, circulated among diplomats, said that “indicators must be output oriented and focusing on measuring tangible results,” rather than demanding to what extent countries are using specific tools like joint procurement. The military plan, under preparation since the summer, makes an effort to address concerns from across the bloc, not just the countries that feel most threatened by Russia. In a nod to Southern European nations such as Italy and Spain, it says “Europe cannot afford being blind on threats coming from other parts of the world,” mentioning the Middle East and Africa. The draft also takes pains to insist that the EU will coordinate closely with NATO. The alliance and some national capitals are worried about Brussels setting up a parallel defense structure that will complicate war plans rather than smoothly integrating with NATO. The goal is to allow the EU to become more independent in a much more perilous world. “Authoritarian states increasingly seek to interfere in our societies and economies,” says the draft. “Traditional allies and partners are also changing their  focus towards other regions of  the world … Europe’s defence posture and capabilities must be ready for the battlefields of tomorrow.”

BRUSSELS — Since war arrived on Europe’s doorstep in February 2022, defense companies have been making hay — by significantly increasing their presence in Brussels. The lobbying budgets of the largest European defense companies surged around 40 percent between 2022 and 2023, a data investigation by POLITICO found. Most have expanded their Brussels-based teams over the past three years to meet the growing demand for influence in the capital of European Union power. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago sent shock waves through the continent — over both its ability to support Kyiv’s war effort, and its own resources should the bloc itself come under direct military threat. As traditional ally the United States reneges on support for Ukraine, the European Commission is searching for ways to drastically increase the EU’s own defense spending — and the industry is making sure it’s well-positioned to influence the EU policy agenda. “We see an unprecedented interest driven by the stark reality of the security landscape,” said Line Tresselt, partner and group director of defense and security at Rud Pedersen, a public affairs consultancy that has been advising the defense sector for two decades. Traditionally, national governments are by far the largest military spenders — meaning it made sense to focus lobby efforts there. At stake is an old-fashioned battle over money: European arms-makers want to ensure EU cash goes to local companies, while foreign contractors also want a slice of the pie.  “It’s more than a response to the full-scale invasion in Ukraine: with EDIP [the €1.5 billion European Defence Industry Programme], but also the European Defense Fund, the upcoming EU defense white paper, the newly appointed defense commissioner, coupled with NATO’s evolving posture … there’s a massive increase of EU-made policies for the sector,” said Tresselt.   EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE The top 10 EU defense firms — Airbus, Leonardo, Thales, Rheinmetall, Naval, Saab, Safran, KNDS Deutschland, Dassault and Fincantieri — have to declare their lobbying efforts in the EU Transparency Register when they lobby in member countries. Archives from the NGO-driven database LobbyFacts also allow a comparison with previous entries from early 2022 and early 2023. In 2022, cumulative spending for the top 10 ranged between €3.95 million and €5.1 million; by 2023, that figure had risen to between €5.5 million and €6.7 million. Working off the lower ends of the brackets, that would equate to a 40 percent increase in just one year. The trend is particularly evident with Swedish defense giant Saab, which doubled its spending — followed by Airbus and Dassault, both of which significantly ramped up their lobbying efforts. Alongside increasing budgets, the majority of these companies have bolstered their teams. In 2024, 90 percent of the firms surveyed reported hiring additional full-time staff to represent their interests in Brussels. Thales led the charge, expanding its lobbying team from 3.5 to 10 employees. Leonardo followed by growing its team from three to five employees. Companies once focused on national markets like Germany and Poland, due to the U.S. military presence there, are now establishing a foothold in Brussels too, added Tresselt. U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, for example, signed on the EU lobbying register for the first time last May, and has already deployed two lobbyists to the European Parliament. Meanwhile, U.S. aerospace firm RTX has two full-time lobbyists and four external representatives advancing its interests in Brussels. BIG APPETITE Donald Trump has added another element of uncertainty to European defense. Countries don’t know whether to appeal to the transactional U.S. president by buying more American weapons, or shift to European arms independent of U.S. influence. Regardless, both options mean work for defense lobbyists. Brussels-based consultancies are racing to meet the increased demand. Tresselt said that Rud Pedersen has expanded its practice, driven by an influx of IT companies entering the defense market. “Banks and investment funds, which historically saw reputational risk in entering defense, also seek specialized advice now,” said Jean-Marc Vesco, CEO of C&V Consulting, a consultancy dedicated to the defense sector. He added that the growing demand led to his company doubling in size. In terms of consulting firms, Brussels’ lobbying scene remains largely dominated by a handful of established players. Only Forward and Logos Public Affairs — working with Airbus — and trade associations EUTOP Europe and Euralia are listed in the EU register as the lobbyists that the top EU defense companies rely on. But the picture is incomplete, since companies don’t always disclose who they’re working with. “The new entrants [to the defense industry consultancy market] are still adjusting, but for the time being, we’re still dealing with historical players,” said Vesco. “We know that some of our employees may be courted by the competition, but we believe our commitment to EU values is what keeps us competitive. We’re not selling socks or cans of Coca-Cola.”