Europe's future defense architecture must reach past the EU's borders. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told La Stampa that it should be genuinely continental and include partnerships with Britain, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, the Western Balkans, Türkiye, and Ukraine, Türkiye Today reports.
Crosetto's argument rests on two premises. European governments can no longer plan capability development on 10- to 15-year horizons because the security environment changes far faster than that.
And Europe must reckon with signals that the US will gradually reduce its military presence on the continent as Washington reorients toward the Indo-Pacific.
Remarks came after NATO summit in Ankara, which papered over cracks between allies
"Governments can no longer limit themselves to planning capabilities that will be available in ten or fifteen years, when the situation will have completely changed," Crosetto said.
The remarks came three days after the NATO summit in Ankara, where allies pledged roughly €140 billion ($160 billion) in military aid to Ukraine over 2026 and 2027. NATO's former deputy commander Richard Shirreff told Euromaidan Press that the summit papered over the cracks between Europe and America rather than closing them.
Strategy document names satellites, undersea cables, and hybrid warfare
Crosetto's statements draw on an Italian Defense Ministry strategic document setting defense priorities for the 2027-2029 budget cycle. It identifies satellite communications development as a key task, stresses the need to strengthen protection of undersea critical infrastructure, and gives substantial weight to cybersecurity and countering disinformation.
"A national and European center for countering hybrid warfare needs to be created," Crosetto said.
Such a structure would allow more effective sharing of information and tools between allies against cyberattacks, propaganda, information manipulation, and other hybrid threats.
Ukraine already supplies Europe more than it receives in some domains
Crosetto's inclusion of Ukraine in a continental defense architecture reflects a shift already underway. Ukraine signed drone agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands, and Denmark in July 2026 as European states tap Kyiv's battlefield-tested weapons technology. Ukraine produced roughly 4 million drones in 2025, exceeding the combined output of all NATO members, and aims to produce 7 million in 2026, according to Bloomberg.
