EU leaders plan annual readiness checks and a 2030 roadmap to accelerate joint capabilities.

The European Union is preparing to elevate the European Defence Agency to a central role in its rearmament drive, according to draft conclusions from the 23 October summit of EU leaders. Governments are expected to call for the agency to be strengthened in capability development, research and acquisition, marking a significant shift in how the bloc coordinates defence efforts.

Under the emerging plan, the agency will turn EU-level priority capability needs into concrete workstreams. Progress would be guided by the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, the agency’s assessment tool for identifying collaboration opportunities, with an annual defence readiness report delivered to EU leaders. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the yearly check-up earlier in October as a way to keep momentum.

The renewed focus on the agency, established in 2004 as an intergovernmental body, follows a period in which it was largely on the sidelines of major EU defence initiatives and only partly involved in joint procurement. Member states have consistently favoured retaining control over big-ticket defence projects rather than handing the reins to the European Commission, a stance long championed by Germany’s government. Placing the agency at the centre therefore aligns with national preferences for an intergovernmental approach.

Alongside the institutional shift, the Commission is pushing four urgent projects to address immediate gaps: Eastern Flank Watch, Drone Wall, Air Defence Shield and Space Defence Shield. A Readiness Roadmap for 2030 will be published on Thursday, setting out priorities that EU countries will debate and endorse at a later stage, with national prerogatives on defence policy preserved. Annual evaluations based on the agency’s review process are intended to keep rearmament on track across the bloc.