8th EDRT: Why should Europe change its mindset and get ready for war?

As part of CESI’s EU co-funded SynCrisis project, the event focused on strengthening public services for crisis response, highlighting the need for reforms, investment in military resources and personnel, and enhanced EU cooperation in security matters.

The European continent faces unprecedented challenges that test the very fabric of its values of democracy, security and unity. Over the past three years, the global security landscape has undergone profound transformations. Russia’s war on Ukraine, now lasting three years, threatens Europe’s eastern borders. The Middle East remains fraught with unresolved conflicts, and the recent return of Donald Trump to the White House shatters the international rules-based order. In response to these multifaceted challenges, the European Union’s new political leadership has placed defence at the forefront of its agenda.

In this context, the EDRT addressed the needs for a wartime mindset, societal preparedness, and a paradigm shift in security. Discussions warned against the shrinking of liberal democracy and Europe’s military reliance on the U.S. Participants highlighted the need for further civil-military cooperation, resilience against hybrid threats, increased defence spending and troop readiness. They emphasised the importance of industry surveys, strengthened defence capabilities, enhanced civil preparedness, and improved communication of Member States and the EU with citizens.

Sebastian Käding, Assessor for Civilian Employees at the German Armed Forces Association (DBwV) and newly elected President of CESI’s Expert Commission ‘Defence,’ shared his expectations for the upcoming EU White Paper on European Defence. He emphasised the evolving security landscape, the needs to address geopolitical tensions, hybrid threats, cyberattacks and terrorism, while strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy. He called for improved interoperability, standardised equipment, command structures and joint military exercises, highlighting the importance of personnel and service attractiveness through modern equipment, fair pay, career development and work-life balance.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger commented: “Europe’s security requires a paradigm shift: The world has changed, and Europe must change with it. Current defence policies must be rethought – focusing not just on military spending but on a holistic approach to security, factoring in social policies which are heavily impacting the functioning of our democracies. Defence spending should be integrating hybrid threat resilience and technological innovation while not underestimating the importance of social policies to create inclusive societies which address inequalities.”

In a videos message, MEP Michael Gahler (Germany) stressed the likelihood of war returning to European Union soil and called for much-needed efforts to step us EU deterrence amid current threats. It is time to switch to a wartime mindset, he said.

Professor Mary Kaldor, Emeritus Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict Research Program at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), referred to the threat of Russia to start “new wars” or to stay engaged in “forever wars” even in the case of a potential ceasefire. She advocated for a reassessment of the current EU priorities to include an approach to the most vulnerable and at risk.

Maria Marisiute, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC), highlighted the need to engage with and prepare civil society organisations and EU citizens at large on EU’s deterrence. Echoing the so-called Niinistö report on preparedness, she referred to the ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of society’ approach as instrumental to achieving EU resilience in the new geopolitical order.

Fabian Zuleeg, CEO of the EPC, who in his latest commentary analysed the potential consequences of a ceasefire in Ukraine imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, warned against the disastrous consequences of an unjust agreement, the attacks of Donald Trump against the EU and liberal democracies overall, and the need to increase EU defence efforts in case of an unjust ‘Trump-imposed’ ceasefire in Ukraine.