The Guardian editorial board on Tuesday urged European leaders to accelerate defense collaboration, warning that the collapse of a major Franco-German fighter jet project represents a dangerous failure of coordination at a time when the continent faces an unreliable U.S. ally and a resurgent Russia.
The editorial, published as G7 leaders gathered in Evian-les-Bains, France, for a summit, argued that Europe’s goal of strategic autonomy will be achieved only through joint effort. It described the current moment as a “Schrödinger’s NATO” situation, citing a recent paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations, in which the United States “remains formally inside the alliance while behaving as though it were not, just as the Russian threat looms larger.”
The piece pointed to the recent abandonment of plans for a Franco-German fighter jet as a case study in how national industrial interests are undermining collective security. France and Germany scrapped a joint £100 billion project to build a new fighter jet as part of an updated Future Combat Air System, originally launched by President Emmanuel Macron and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017. The editorial said the project foundered due to disputes over technology transfer and over Dassault’s determination to play the lead role.
“The interests of industry have been placed over the interests of Europe’s security and defence, and I find that deeply worrying,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said, according to the editorial. Spain also had a stake in the project.
The editorial noted that France’s postwar status as a heavyweight in defense does not give it the resources to modernize alone in an era of great-power rivalry, as new technologies transform warfare and deterrence. It said the risk is continued technological reliance on the U.S., as with the current generation of F-35 fighters, whose use “effectively depends on Washington’s goodwill.”
Reported U.S. pressure on Italy over the development of the “Michelangelo Dome” — a proposed AI air defense system — indicates that Washington will not give up its influence and competitive advantage without a fight, the editorial said.
The editorial acknowledged that an embryonic structure of coordination has begun to emerge in Brussels. In 2024, the EU published the first European Defence Industrial Strategy, and the Security Action for Europe mechanism provides 150 billion euros in low-interest loans for defense investment. The editorial said much more needs to be done to build on that platform.
Greater access to pan-European funding models can alleviate pressure on straining national budgets, the editorial argued. It said future subsidies and grants could be tied to projects that explicitly prioritize joint development and industrial collaboration. It also cited a multilateral defense mechanism launched by Britain alongside Finland and the Netherlands as an example of a complementary financing track.
As G7 leaders met in Evian this week, the editorial noted that another European charm offensive was being mounted to convince President Donald Trump to exert more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. “It’s necessary work, but so is the strategic transformation that would leave the EU less reliant on the diplomatic arts of flattery and persuasion,” the editorial concluded.