European defence and security leaders will convene in Brussels on Wednesday for the Euronews Defence & Space Summit, at a moment when governments across the continent are under intensifying pressure to raise military readiness and strengthen Europe’s capacity to respond to fast-evolving threats.

The one-day gathering at the Albert Hall will bring together senior NATO and EU officials, defence ministers, military commanders and representatives from Europe’s defence and aerospace sectors.

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Among those expected to participate are NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

The summit comes as European governments accelerate defence spending and search for more effective coordination on procurement, military mobility and industrial production. The central question is no longer whether Europe should invest more in security, but how quickly it can turn higher spending into real operational capability.

A New Security Reality For Europe

Recent incidents involving drones and other suspected hybrid activity have sharpened concern over the protection of critical infrastructure and Europe’s ability to respond to threats that fall below the threshold of conventional warfare.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has described these developments as part of a “new era of European security,” while Kubilius has called for a stronger European response to hybrid threats. The language reflects a broader shift in Brussels: security is increasingly being treated not as a narrow military issue, but as a whole-of-society challenge spanning infrastructure, technology, logistics and industrial resilience.

Defence Spending And Joint Procurement

One of the summit’s main discussions will focus on Europe’s push to raise defence investment while reducing fragmentation across national armed forces and defence industries.

The European Union is pursuing a broader defence-readiness agenda aimed at expanding production capacity and improving cooperation between member states. Kubilius has previously argued that military mobility across Europe must be significantly improved, pointing to the challenges involved in moving troops and equipment rapidly across national borders.

The summit will bring policymakers and industry leaders into the same room to discuss procurement, financing and the development of European defence capabilities. That debate is increasingly urgent: without common standards, faster decision-making and better cross-border coordination, higher budgets risk producing uneven results rather than a stronger collective posture.

Hybrid Threats And Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and the protection of civilian and military infrastructure are also expected to feature prominently.

Discussions are likely to examine how governments can defend critical networks against state-sponsored cyberattacks and other forms of hybrid activity, alongside the role of secure cloud infrastructure and emerging technologies.

Virkkunen, whose European Commission portfolio includes technology sovereignty, security and democracy, oversees EU work on secure digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and cloud policy. Her presence underscores how closely Europe now links digital resilience with national and continental security.

Building Europe’s Defence Industrial Base

The summit will also assess efforts to strengthen Europe’s defence industrial base.

European governments are under pressure to increase output while addressing supply-chain vulnerabilities and the complexity created by differing national procurement systems. In practical terms, this means Europe must do more than announce spending increases; it must ensure factories, suppliers and logistics networks can sustain long-term demand.

Representatives from defence companies, European institutions and industry organisations will take part in the discussions, reflecting a growing emphasis on expanding European manufacturing capacity alongside higher military budgets.

NATO, The Eastern Flank And Coordination With The EU

The ministerial and military sessions will unfold against the backdrop of rising concern over security along NATO’s eastern flank.

Rutte has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining the capabilities needed to respond to security threats, while European officials have called for deeper coordination between NATO and the EU. The challenge is not simply strategic alignment, but operational coherence: Europe’s security architecture now depends on how effectively these institutions can work together under pressure.

Among the military leaders attending are General Seán Clancy, Chairman of the EU Military Committee, and General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces.

The summit will be broadcast live by Euronews on Wednesday, 30 September, with proceedings beginning at 09:00 CEST, according to the official Euronews Events listing.

At its core, the event reflects a broader European imperative: transforming higher defence spending into concrete capability, industrial scale and a more coordinated approach to continental security.