On 10 July 2026, our Director Steven Everts and our analysts, Luigi Scazzieri, Giuseppe Spatafora and Joris Teer, presented our recent Chaillot Paper, 'Defending Europe, Deterring Russia: Resources, Readiness and Resolve', to European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius.
We discussed how Europe can strengthen its defence readiness in an increasingly challenging security environment, as the Russian threat grows and US commitment remains uncertain.
It was particularly encouraging to see broad convergence on many of the paper's ideas, from strengthening Europe's material foundations for defence to reinforcing the institutional and political conditions needed for credible deterrence.
As Commissioner Kubilius noted, ideas need to lead to action. We hope this report will contribute to that!
