The ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030: challenges to its implementation and perspectives on international co-operation

Abstract

This paper examines the initial stages of the Rearm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 presented by the European Commission in March 2025, which aims at mobilising 800 billion to boost the defence of the European Union (eu), including joint procurement of defence products, harmonisation of the eu defence market and closing capability gaps. In order to succeed, this initiative must overcome considerable hurdles such as inadequate funding, the fragmented nature of the European defence industry, incompatibilities in military equipment, limited nuclear deterrence, political opposition, and most importantly, the relationship an autonomous European defence structure could maintain with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United States of America, which have served as guarantors of Europe’s security for the last 70 years. A consolidated eu defence framework could also usher in a new era of military cooperation with other regions and third countries, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. The text concludes that, in its current implementation phase, it is unclear whether this project could effectively lead to the establishment of a European Defence Union and, moreover, that this initiative seems to counter the international efforts to promote global disarmament and arms control.