Havel stage | The Backbone of Deterrence: Europe’s Warfighting Base - Presentation

Presentation of Annual Battle Readiness on the Eastern Flank Report by Martin Sklenár, Former Minister of Defence of Slovakia & Distinguished Fellow, GLOBSEC Europe’s deterrence depends not only on forces in the field but on the industrial backbone that sustains them. The war in Ukraine has revealed structural weaknesses - fragmented production, limited surge capacity, and uneven industrial cooperation. To achieve credible readiness by 2030, NATO and EU Allies must strengthen industrial resilience and interoperability across borders, linking production capacity directly to operational readiness. - Can Europe scale defence production, maintenance, and sustainment rapidly enough to meet long-term readiness and deterrence requirements? - How effectively are NATO and EU frameworks aligning industrial capabilities with operational defence needs to ensure interoperability across borders? - To what extent can Europe build a self-sufficient defence industrial base, and what role will partnerships, allied value chains, and selective decoupling from adversaries play in meeting long-term deterrence requirements? - Can Europe achieve this level of industrial resilience independently, or will it remain reliant on partnerships, allied value chains, and selective decoupling from adversaries? Speakers: Martin Sklenár, Former Minister of Defence, Slovakia (Annual Battle Readiness report) Tarja Jaakkola, ASG Defence Industry, Innovation & Armaments, NATO Derk Boswijk, Minister for Arms Procurement, Netherlands Nuno Pinheiro Torres, Deputy Minister for Defence Policy, Portugal Marcel Grisnigt, EVP International Development, KNDS Led by: Chris Lunday, Security & Defence Reporter, POLITICO