Aerospace & Defence
The European Union’s Aerospace & Defence sector is undergoing a transformation without precedent in the post-Cold War era. The European civil aerospace sector generates a turnover of approximately €160 billion and employs over one million workers. Defence industries contribute €100 billion per year in turnover and 1.4 million highly skilled jobs, with significant spin-off effects across aviation, space, and electronics.
The war in Ukraine has fundamentally reset Europe’s strategic calculus. The ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030 Plan, mobilises up to €800 billion in defence spending through national fiscal flexibility, a €150 billion SAFE loan instrument for joint procurement, EIB financing now expanded to cover military equipment and infrastructure, and private capital mobilised through the Savings and Investments Union.
Crucially, SAFE is now operational and first payments began flowing from March 2026. Germany has gone further, amending its constitutional ‘debt brake’ to permanently exempt defence spending above 1% of GDP from borrowing limits – a structural shift that sets a precedent across the EU. The Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 added specificity: nine capability coalitions to be completed by 2030 covering air and missile defence, drones, cyber and AI, military mobility, and maritime security.
The line between civil and military aerospace is blurring. Dual-use technologies – satellites, drones, cybersecurity, AI – are attracting both government procurement and private capital simultaneously. Proposals for a European Space Shield and European Air Shield envisage initial capability by end-2026, with full functionality by 2028. European drone start-ups like Helsing have reached multi-billion-dollar valuations as investors pile in. Pressure is also growing for consolidation of Europe’s fragmented defence industrial base, as policymakers seek to create larger European champions – led by companies such as Airbus, Leonardo, and Rheinmetall – capable of scaling at the pace demanded by rapidly rising defence budgets. Long-standing assumptions about unconditional US security commitment to Europe have been seriously tested, making this the most active and consequential Brussels defence lobbying environment in a generation.
Brussels-based NATO HQ remains a strategic centre alongside the EU institutions. With 23 states now members of both NATO and the EU there is greater overlap between the two organisations and creates both coordination opportunities and institutional complexity for defence advocates.