EU must take primary defense role as US pivots: Kubilius

European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius warned on Thursday that the European Union must prepare to assume primary responsibility for continental defense as the United States shifts strategic resources toward the Indo-Pacific. Speaking at a conference hosted by the Friends of Europe think tank in Brussels, he emphasized that NATO remains essential for addressing security threats from Russia and Belarus on the bloc's eastern flank.

"It's very clear why we need NATO, because we have very clear threats on our eastern border: Russia and Belarus," Kubilius told attendees, arguing that transatlantic solidarity remains indispensable in the face of immediate security challenges. He noted that Moscow and Minsk continue to pose direct challenges to European stability through their coordinated military posture.

US strategic shift inevitable

However, the commissioner cautioned that Washington's strategic focus is increasingly shaped by China's growing power and developments in the Indo-Pacific theater, necessitating a long-term shift in military resources. "That is why they are asking us to develop our capabilities and to be ready to take primary responsibility on the European continent, and they will stay with secondary responsibility," he said. "My understanding is that we shall really see much less of Americans here on European continent. Not because they do not love us anymore, but because they need to shift to Indo-Pacific," Kubilius added.

Institutional overhaul required

Kubilius stressed that current European institutions and decision-making mechanisms — designed during a different era — are no longer adequate for contemporary security challenges. "Our doctrines, including foreign policy and defense, our institutions, and our decision making, which were created during this time, are not fit anymore for today's situation," he stated, calling for stronger collective decision-making frameworks alongside enhanced military capabilities.

A future European Defense Union should bring together countries across the continent and include Ukraine and Canada, Kubilius suggested. He also proposed examining a smaller decision-making format potentially modeled on the E5 Plus concept, allowing smaller countries to participate in key security deliberations on a rotational basis while building stronger collective mechanisms.