A Herculean Task: Can Europe Defend Itself? 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission: “The next five years will define Europe’s place in the world for the next five decades. We cannot take the risk of being underprepared or over reliant.” Russia’s war on Ukraine has revealed the sorry state of European militaries and defence industries. We have focused our armed forces on out-of-area operations and have not invested enough in our own capabilities and infrastructure. Is the White Paper for European Defence and the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 enough to prepare Europe to defend itself in the coming years? Is there a way to overcome the fragmentation of the European defence industry and increase interoperability through standardisation? Do Europeans even have enough forces to react with the necessary speed, or should Europe re-establish conscription and reserve-based defence forces?