Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto met in Brussels with Kaia Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, and Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in a Defence format.
What Crosetto said: The Minister called the meeting “important and strategic,” highlighting three core points:
- Strengthening the role of EU member states in defence-related decision-making.
- Ensuring “full coherence between political guidance and technical implementation.”
- Improving transparency and collaboration to make EU defence cooperation more credible and avoid “unnecessary duplications.”
- Crosetto emphasised “our goal is for European common defence initiatives to always reflect shared decisions.”
- “Another key issue was transparency and collaboration to make European cooperation in the defence sector more effective and credible, without creating unnecessary duplication and promoting industrial competitiveness, coordination and mutual trust between Member States.”
Between the lines: Italy’s message underscores a broader concern shared by several capitals: EU defence tools should not overlap with national or NATO efforts, and industry competitiveness and coordination must remain central.
The big picture: The discussion comes as Brussels accelerates work on defence initiatives—from industrial coordination to joint capability planning—while member states seek to maintain precise control over the strategic direction of EU defence.
(Photo: X, @MinisteroDifesa)
