Two years of Russia’s war of aggression have shown us that we are witnessing not only one but several turning points. In the coming years, the focus will no longer just be on supporting Ukraine militarily. We Europeans must be able to better defend ourselves, as laid out in the National Security Strategy.

We finally need a security and defence union that strengthens the European pillar in NATO – one that reflects our economic stature and endures regardless of who is in power in the US. To this end, the national military capabilities of the EU member states must not only be genuinely compatible with one another in reality, but we also need joint strategic European procurement, development and industrial cooperation to which everyone can contribute their particular national strengths. For Germany, for example, this could be our expertise in air defence or in the armed forces.

It is clear that the current special fund will not be sufficient for this and that it must be significantly increased going forward. Investments in the European security and defence union, a project that spans generations, cannot be subject to one‑year budgets or the check on public borrowing. Security has its price and it requires reliability.