DIGITALEUROPE's reaction to the European Defence Industrial Strategy

Today, the European Commission presented the European Defence Industrial Strategy. DIGITALEUROPE’S Director-General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl commented:

”Defence, just like digital, requires speed and scale. Modernising our defence industry will be one of the defining issues of our time. This plan by the Commission is big, bold, and I applaud their ambition. 

Today it is digital that is defining the battlefield. We need to overhaul our procurement – better coordination, faster processes and simpler rules will attract the diverse tech players we need to protect us on land, sea, air,  in space and cyberspace. On R&D, we need to see this welcome funding boost focused on AI, cyber defence and other critical technology areas that will be the baseline for our armed forces for years to come.

If you need inspiration on the role that tech can play in warfare, just look at our friends in Ukraine – it is their digital savvy population and strong public-private partnership – the ‘tech army’ – that are the foundations for their resilience against a much larger enemy.”