Nominee to be first European commissioner for defence addresses R&D-led industries and supply chain threats
The nominee to be the first ever European commissioner for defence and space has pledged to develop European capacity in critical, R&D-led technologies—including semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence and quantum—to mitigate supply chain threats.
Former Lithuanian prime minister Andrius Kubilius was grilled by MEPs in a three-hour confirmation hearing on 6 November, amid mounting concerns that Europe is not investing enough in defence.
He was questioned by MEP Raphaël Glucksmann of the Socialists and Democrats group on Europe’s need to develop domestic industries against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and uncertainty in relations with the US following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Kubilius agreed with Glucksmann that Europe needs to develop its industries in key technologies. This, he said, is “not just because we want to compete with the Americans…but because during the [Russia-Ukraine] war, to have industrial capacity on European soil is a must. It’s crucial.”
Kubilius pointed to European strategy documents that “we need to implement”, including on four critical technologies: semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and biotechnologies.
He highlighted that on chips, Europe is “very much dependent on Taiwan”.
“On quantum, as I am told by experts, we do quite [well]; but we need to develop industry on that, not just research and development,” he continued.
European Darpa call
Throughout the hearing, the commissioner-designate made clear the need for an increased budget for defence and space, specifically calling for an increase in defence R&D spending.
“We need to significantly increase both public and private investment in defence research and development while preserving defence specificities, and we need to reinforce the European Defence Fund,” he said.
“We should also explore means to better mobilise EU support for high-risk, high-reward research projects like [those funded by the] Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency in the United States.”
Space plans
“Space remains underused in defence,” Kubilius said, stressing that information obtained by satellites is critical to informing European defence strategies.
To address this, Kubilius said he would continue to advance the EU’s flagship space programmes—the satellite navigation system Galileo and the Earth observation scheme Copernicus—as well as the planned multi-orbit satellite internet constellation Iris². But more investment will be needed, he added.
Kubilius also pledged to implement an EU space law to promote global standards for satellites; foster the space data economy; and shore up the defence of EU space assets for “the most extreme military contingencies”.
