Let’s not wait for war to unite us, let’s unite to prevent war

We have been working since day one of entering office to make sure the EU’s new defence initiatives are more ambitious than the dangers that threaten our continent. Since Christmas, we have been meeting hundreds of experts, officials and journalists and negotiated on two files: the White Paper on EU defence, and the European Defence Industrial Programme. We worked together closely with the Volt defense community and led the effort of creating a common position with the Greens.

Mar 28, 2025

The necessary focus on defense is a failure of humankind. Every cent spent on the military is a cent not spent on education, healthcare or clean energy. We keep in mind that, firstly, the military is just one aspect of the entire security architecture of Europe. Our focus has been on this military aspect, but diplomacy, societal resilience, infrastructure, resilience to climate change, cybersecurity, etc., are very important as well. Secondly, the EU is fundamentally a peace project. Founded in the ashes of the second world war to prevent Europeans going to war against each other, ever again. Now however, Russia has decided to wage war on Europe. So to prevent more war, we need to help Ukraine win and strengthen our own defence.

We present a detailed plan for a European army and how to get there. Sometimes it is not that visible, but while working on the future of European defence, the following questions are important to us:

  • Will this protect our green, social and democratic future, not come at its expense?

    • For example, by supporting only fresh money, not repurposing green or social investments.

  • Will this strengthen EU democratic control, accountability, transparency over defence?

    • For example, by demanding that the European Parliament has co-decision powers.

  • Will this contribute to broader security, including climate, cyber, and livelihoods?

    • For example, by investing in wider societal resilience, based on the Finnish model.

  • Will this investment benefit society and not lead to outrageous profits for a few shareholders?

    • For example, by raising windfall profit taxes and growing production capacity.

  • Will this production of weapons defend people from aggression and not be misused by autocrats?

    • For example, by instituting mandatory arms export controls at EU level.

On the 19th of March, the European Commission finally presented its plans for European Defense. We are positive about the proposals, which include a lot of the ideas we have been pushing for. Especially the standardisation of the defence industry sets the right path. But we still miss plans for the fundamental problem: we can no longer rely on the US. If we are to make NATO continue to function with European leadership, we need the command structure, strategic enablers, and joint forces to be able to defend ourselves independently from the US. 

So we have to answer one core question: how can we put the EU in a position to deter and defend against Russian military aggression, autonomously from the United States and within a more European NATO?

You can find our full position paper here. Next to ideas on governance and investment, we will continue to push these proposals in the coming years: 

Emergency Defense Readiness

  • A European plan to enable victory and peace for Ukraine

  • A new law to allow the EU to speed up procedures in crisis situations

  • Mandatory targets to purchase and store sufficient equipment

Single Market for Defense

  • An output plan to jointly purchase and standardise everything we need together

  • A new Commission agency to create breakthrough innovative technologies

  • Regional clusters to create a more competitive European defence industry

Integrated Armed Forces

  • A European command and control structure to allow us to operate independently

  • Jointly procured, owned and crewed ‘’strategic enablers’’ to allow effective cooperation

  • Permanent EU standing forces to allow us to quickly generate the forces required

Our vision for a democratic, green, just and European future can only be achieved if we defend it from those who seek to destroy it. Ultimately, only a United Europe, with a real foreign and security policy, can provide this protection.

Let’s not wait for war to unite us; let’s unite to prevent war!

Last but not least, I want to express gratitude to the many policy shapers, the Volt defense community, and the Volt team in the European parliament, for contributing to this massive effort to create an ambitious plan and a path with concrete steps on how to get there.

All the best,

Reinier van Lanschot 


Relevant Volt positions:

9 point action plan for EU: https://volteuropa.org/news/eu-response-to-a-changing-world-order-a-9-point-action-plan 

Petition EU army https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/eu-member-states-protect-us-with-a-european-army 

Statement EU army: https://volteuropa.org/news/europes-coming-of-age-trial 

Petition United Europe https://chng.it/Lf8DGvzHpX 

Statement United Europe https://volteuropa.org/news/we-need-the-united-states-of-europe 

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