New EU defense chief to fight political battles with military edge

The European Union has nominated its first defense commissioner but he will not have an army under his command, weapons at his disposal or much money to spend.

The job of Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania, will be to fight political battles rather than military campaigns. But the outcome of those battles may have military significance.

Kubilius' mission is to boost the continent's arms industry, by getting EU countries to spend more on European weapons and procure jointly with other governments - and by getting companies themselves to cooperate more across borders.

The new post reflects how security has risen to the top of the EU's political agenda since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, fueled by fears that Europe may not be able to rely on Washington for protection if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

It also reflects a desire by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, for the EU's executive body to play a greater role in defense policy.

"Europe must spend more, spend better, spend European," von der Leyen told Kubilius in a letter outlining his role after nominating him on Tuesday as a member of her new top team.

Kubilius, 67, will face formidable obstacles if he is approved for the post by the European Parliament, where he currently sits as a center-right lawmaker.

Governments’ relationships with their national arms companies are deeply entrenched and previous attempts to loosen them have had limited success.

Some EU governments are deeply wary of giving Brussels a say in how they spend on defense or organize defense industries. EU heavyweight Germany has been notably cool on such initiatives.

Von der Leyen is trying to reassure governments while also making the case for a greater EU role.

"Member states will always be responsible for their armed forces – from doctrine to deployment," she wrote in her letter. "But there is a lot that Europe can do to support – in terms of investment, industry, procurement, research, innovation and much more."

Legal Challenge

Kubilius will also have limited legal backing. The European Commission has no legal mandate to formulate defense policies, which are the preserve of national governments.

When European countries do coordinate on defense, it is mainly through NATO rather than the EU. And some NATO allies, such as the United States, Britain and Turkey, do not like EU defense initiatives which they see as protectionist, reducing the prospects for their firms in the European market.

Kubilius has been tasked with proposing defense projects of "common European interest" to defend against attacks from the air and cyberspace.

He is also charged with turning a defense industrial strategy proposed by the Commission into legislation.

But that plan came with initial funding of just 1.5 billion euros – a small amount in military procurement terms.

If Kubilius is to fulfill his mission, the EU will need much more cash for such initiatives - which suggests one of Kubilius’ biggest battles may be over the bloc's next long-term budget.

"You will have to convince those countries that are increasing their defense budgets to also allocate some funds to such EU instruments," Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at think tank Bruegel, wrote in a memo to the future commissioner earlier this month.