Talks come amid an increasing focus on defence spending as Europe looks to rearm.

Leading defence procurement officials from major European countries met in France on 19 May to present and discuss their major priority defence projects, an official press release from the French Ministry of Armed Forces has revealed.

Organised at the behest of France’s Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, the symposium brought together representatives from all 27 EU nations, as well as from Albania, NATO, North Macedonia, Norway, the UK, and Ukraine.

Each country was asked to present three key industrial projects while France presented a catalogue of several dozen, all with the aim of improving Europe’s position on defence and pushing the ReArm Europe agenda unveiled in March.

Around 40 projects were presented by attending nations and partners, with France unveiling a “multi-layered ground-to-air defence” project with the Mistral short range air defence system, a weapon designed to protect against low-altitude aerial threats.

The proposed ground-to-air defence project would also incorporate the Franco-Italian SAMPT anti-missile and anti-aircraft weapon system.

Another proposal from France focused on the development of a European early warning capability.

“This meeting was intended to create a new dynamic consistent with the EU's desire to act on rearmament,” the Ministry of Armed Forces of France said in the press release.

It provided an opportunity for discussions between various stakeholders on “concrete industrial projects” that could contribute to European rearmament by 2030.

Looking ahead, the next objective of the symposium is to form coalitions of nations based on relative interest in the projects.

These coalitions will then refine the projects and manage their deployment under the coordination of either the European Defence Agency or a leading nation.

ReArm Europe plan shifts into gear

Worth up to EUR800 billion, the EU’s ReArm Europe plan was unveiled on 4 March with the aim of addressing European security and support for Ukraine.

Heralding an “era of rearmament”, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen introduced the plan, including the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) funding instrument, among other initiatives.

Under SAFE, countries gain access to EUR150 billion in loans for pan-European defence investments in areas like air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, and cyber capabilities.

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