The EU Joint White Paper for Defence Readiness 2030 and Ireland’s Response?
Azure Forum Strategic Insight 007/2025
By Dr. Kenneth McDonagh, Associate Professor in International Relations in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University
It could be said that the most remarkable aspect of the new EU Joint White Paper for Defence Readiness 2030, the first of its kind, is that it contained few surprises. The EU Joint White paper is the latest in a series of steps the EU has taken to carve out a role in coordinating and consolidating European security while balancing the competing interests of Member States, NATO and the European defence industry. Over the past decade, the EU has taken concrete steps to add value, drive investment and more recently provide funding for Member States to develop defence capabilities to meet the challenging geopolitical present. The White Paper is an incremental step forward on this path but many challenges lay ahead.