A cross-party group of 30 MEPs on Thursday reported for duty. Their mission: pushing for a European Defence Union.

The MEPs described their effort in a press conference as a way to reinforce the defence agenda promoted by Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, who they say is “moving in the right direction”, while member states “remain the main obstacle” to faster decision-making on defence files.

The initiative was also born as a direct rebuff to dismissive comments by the NATO chief in the hemicycle earlier this year.

“If you think Europe can defend itself without the US, keep dreaming,” Mark Rutte told lawmakers. Dutch Green MEP Reinier van Lanschot said in response on Thursday that “it’s not a dream, it’s a necessity”.

The group includes MEPS from EPP, Renew, S&D, and Greens, and currently has a strong Franco-Dutch-German core, alongside several lawmakers from Eastern Europe. No MEPs from Italy, Spain or Greece appear among the signatories, although van Lanschot said the coalition is working to bring Mediterranean voices on board.

In an op-ed they drafted that will be published on Saturday and addressed to the EU’s 27 capitals, they call for rapid progress towards a European Defence Union and deeper military integration at EU level.

The next steps, they argue, must be deeper European defence integration and joint procurement mechanisms.

“The Commission is ready, the Parliament is ready, now it’s on the Member States. Putin will not wait for national approvals,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the chair of the Security and Defence (SEDE) committee, and one of the signatories of the op-ed, said.

The informal group plans a first visit to the Ramstein air base on 18 May as part of its effort to deepen coordination on European defence issues.

The group also sees the project as a way to integrate partners such as Ukraine more closely into Europe’s security architecture, even before formal EU accession becomes possible.

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