Brussels: Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told MEPs on 1 October 2026 that the Readiness 2030 roadmap will fail unless Europe closes three linked gaps at once: institutional, industrial and financial. He briefed the Parliament’s security and defence committee, chaired by Marie-Agnès Strack-Zimmermann, and he warned that Russia still outproduces Europe. His remarks, reported by EU Perspectives, arrive two weeks before EU leaders discuss defence at their Brussels summit.
Kubilius argued that doctrine, institutions and decision-making have not kept pace with the threat, which puts the Readiness 2030 roadmap at risk. He quoted Einstein’s remark about repeating the same actions and expecting different results, then added: “I hope we are not insane.” He floated a European Defence Union that could include the UK, Ukraine, Norway and Canada, and he gave his personal view that Europe needs an E5-style security council.
Ukraine dominated the numbers behind the Readiness 2030 roadmap. The €28.3 billion weapons loan for 2026 is on track, with €12 billion paid out, yet Kubilius called that insufficient because Ukraine faces a €23 billion shortfall tied to unmet pledges. Five member states supply about three quarters of European support, and air defence is critically short: US PAC-3 production reaches about 750 missiles a year, while Ukraine may need roughly two for each Russian ballistic missile.
Industry shows a similar mismatch. Russia may launch about 10 million drones this year, while Europe builds 1.5 million annually. Kubilius still rejected an instant jump to 10 million, since first-person-view drones become obsolete within about two months, and he backed “warm” contracts that keep production lines ready to surge.
Procurement habits also drew his criticism under the Readiness 2030 roadmap. In some countries, up to 80 percent of prime contractors’ output goes directly to governments, often without competition, under the Article 346 security exemption. He wants Europe to favour “good enough” systems that are cheaper and easier to scale, and he said a classified European Defence Agency report finds the EU is not rearming fast enough for its 2030 goal.
Money frames every choice in the Readiness 2030 roadmap. The proposed 2028-2034 budget would give €130 billion to defence and space over seven years, while member states expect to spend about €6 trillion on NATO commitments in the same period. Kubilius presented those two figures side by side to show that national budgets, not Brussels, carry most of the effort.
The calendar now gets crowded. The Commission’s Defence Investment Forum takes place in Luxembourg on 14 October, and leaders meet on 15 and 16 October. Kubilius expects the European Security Strategy by the end of October and a defence market package, including a procurement directive revision, in late November or early December.
For now, the Readiness 2030 roadmap stays a plan that depends on capitals, banks and factories moving together. The next signals are the summit conclusions and the Security Strategy, and both will show whether governments accept the three-gap diagnosis or keep treating readiness as a series of separate national projects.
