Representatives of European business emphasize that building the resilience of EU countries should focus not only on investments in military capabilities, but above all on strengthening the economy. Europe’s competitiveness, supply-chain security and cross-border cooperation between countries and regions all play crucial roles. These issues are receiving increasing attention at the EU level.
“Resilience needs to be viewed in a very broad perspective. The military dimension is one aspect, but not the only one. As business federations from various countries, we stress that, alongside building military capabilities, we must have a strong economy. A crisis is not limited to military invasion, such as what we see in Ukraine—it may also take the form of events like COVID-19 or floods. Business has a huge role to play in many of these areas,” says Kinga Grafa, Deputy Director General for European Affairs at the Lewiatan Confederation, in an interview with Newseria.
As experts highlighted during the EFNI panel “Strengthening Europe’s Resilience and Competitiveness: The Perspective of the North-East Flank Countries,” Europe needs not only tanks, but also efficient supply chains and a deep level of trust between public administrations and business.
“I can use the example of pharmaceuticals. In every crisis—whether a military conflict or another type—societies must have access to medicines. Yet in Poland, we depend on Asia for roughly 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Without active ingredients, there are no medicines. If something were to happen—something COVID-19 already demonstrated by disrupting supply chains—we could find ourselves without active ingredients, and therefore without medicines, in Europe,” says Kinga Grafa. “EU institutions increasingly recognize that resilience is broader than military issues or defence capabilities.”
In this context, the word “competitiveness” is being emphasized across all discussions. In September 2024, Mario Draghi published a report outlining the barriers that have hindered economic growth in Europe. Based on that report, the European Commission in January presented a “competitiveness compass”—a plan to restore economic dynamism. Among its initiatives are so-called omnibus packages: comprehensive sets of simplifications and deregulation of EU law. Six such packages are already undergoing the legislative process.
“It is now up to the European Parliament and the Council—meaning all EU institutions—to ease regulatory burdens for companies so they remain competitive and do not move production outside the EU. That is one important aspect. Another is, for example, the multiannual budget, which can also serve competitiveness,” the expert adds.
The new long-term EU budget for 2028–2034 is expected to reach around €2 trillion, or 1.26% of the EU’s average gross national income. The European Commission aims to make it more flexible, enabling quicker and more effective responses to unforeseen events. The budget’s purpose is also to strengthen Europe’s sovereignty and boost competitiveness so the EU can secure supply chains, scale up innovation, and lead the global race toward clean and smart technologies. A key instrument will be the European Competitiveness Fund, which is set to invest over €400 billion in strategic technologies across the Single Market, in line with the recommendations of the Letta and Draghi reports.
The Fund is expected to stimulate both public and private investment. Its support will focus on four areas: the green transition and decarbonisation; digital transformation; health, biotechnology, agriculture and the bioeconomy; and defence and space.
“We are very pleased to see the health component included, because it demonstrates that the European Union views resilience as more than just the military dimension—although that, of course, remains very important,” says Kinga Grafa.
According to the European Commission, €131 billion from the 2028–2034 budget will be allocated to defence, security and space.
“The EU can better integrate competitiveness and resilience in many ways. This was highlighted by the reports adopted last year: the Letta report on the Single Market, demonstrating its importance also for resilience; the Draghi report on competitiveness; and the Sauli Niinistö report on resilience and crisis preparedness,” says the Deputy Director General for European Affairs at Lewiatan.
The Niinistö report emphasized the need for a “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approach, in which all relevant actors—civilian and military—cooperate effectively in crisis response. Strengthening preparedness requires integrating internal and external security measures, and using both civil and military tools. This approach is also reflected in the initiative of business organizations from the northeastern EU and NATO flank, which proposed a government–business partnership focused on investments for resilience and defence.
“Within BusinessEurope, we have formed a coalition with federations from Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe. We stress the need for regional cooperation. Our region is particularly vulnerable to threats coming from the East. We are already witnessing certain attacks: drone attacks and incidents targeting critical infrastructure,” says Kinga Grafa. “We will advocate for the EU budget to reflect the specific needs of our region and cross-border cooperation in the defence and resilience context, and to highlight the significant role of business. Member states should work closely with business, because business creates the solutions needed to build resilience in both our economies and societies.”
As highlighted during the EFNI panel by Maciej Witucki, Finland offers a strong example: in Finland, crisis preparedness is a national philosophy. Tero Kiviniemi, CEO of Finnish infrastructure giant Destia, presented the “total defence” model, which is built on cooperation between the state and companies—from planning to strategic exercises and implementing readiness strategies. Experts stressed the need to strengthen the region’s energy independence, as well as to invest in satellites, communication systems and energy storage.
