Event on “Investing in European Defence : A Race Toward Readiness”

This Wednesday, 4 February, the Intergroup had the honour of organizing the first 2026 event on the financing of European defence, at the European Parliament.

As co-chair of our Bureau and chair of the event, MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin introduced the event with strong words, inspired by his experience as a former soldier:
– Over the past decades, we underestimated the Russian threat and overestimated the reliability of the US.
– In a context of the electrification of warfare, Europe’s strategic autonomy depends on its ability to secure its own energy supply and produce it’s own energy

Herald Ruijters, Deputy Director-General of DG DEFIS at the European Commission, framed the discussion by emphasizing defence as a cornerstone of peace and democracy. He highlighted the Commission’s recent initiatives, including the Rearm Package, Military Mobility Proposal, and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), to bolster Europe’s defence capabilities.

His intervention was followed by a panel discussion between:
– Isabelle Maelcamp, Sustainability Director at Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), who insisted on the European defence industry’s need for substantial and qualitative investments, but also predictability from investors and governments.
– prof. Marta Postuła, Vice-President of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), who offered valuable insights from one of Europe’s most active public investors in defence and shared best practices from Poland
– Thomas Ribéreau, Partner at Argos Fund, who highlighted how much private investment is vital to support small companies that are the backbone of the defence industry.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Jacob Funk Kirkegaard for his expert moderation, and to all participants for the quality of their questions and their active engagement, which greatly enriched the discussion.