"The launch of the European Committee of the Regions’ Working Group on Defence comes at a decisive moment. Our goal is clear: to give regions and cities a voice in European debates on defence, security, preparedness, and resilience. We will contribute the territorial perspective — the vision and experience drawn from the governance and management of our cities and regions, our direct connection with the territory, our industrial and innovation ecosystems, and our citizens themselves. We know the value we bring and embrace our strategic responsibility to help build a stronger, more competitive, and more secure Europe,” Fernando López Miras (ES/EPP), President of the Murcia Region made these remarks after being elected chair of theWorking Group on Defence set up the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
During the meeting, members of the Working Group exchanged views on the security situation in their constituencies, presenting relevant projects, investments, and best practices in areas such as civil protection, resilience, cybersecurity, and countering disinformation. The exchange highlighted the diversity of local challenges but also the common commitment of regions and cities to contribute to Europe’s security.
López Miras underlined that the Region of Murcia has always had a profound commitment to the defence sector, with a number of military bases across its territory. In particular, he referred to the CAETRA project, which aims to promote R&D, innovation, technology entrepreneurship, and international cooperation in dual-use technologies for defence, as well as in security and post-disaster rebuilding, benefiting from EU ERDF and ESF co-funding.
André Knapp (DE, EPP), Lord Mayor of Suhl, said that his region of Thuringia has a long tradition in defence through various companies producing small arms. Knapp added that Thuringia has strong expertise in precision manufacturing, metalworking, and the optoelectronic industry. He explained that the Thuringian state government organised a workshop with partners to assess companies’ readiness to become more active in the defence sector. “More than 250 companies participated in this workshop, and I can therefore say that the region’s willingness to establish itself and step up in this area is strong. We can specifically build on our strengths in optics and optoelectronic component development, given the solid foundation and expertise that already exist here.” Knapp also highlighted Thuringia’s role as a logistics hub: “We are responsible for ensuring the transit and transport of troops and heavy materiel through Germany to NATO’s eastern flank. That is why we have some of the best infrastructure data. We are fully engaged with the particular challenges of working with the military, including strengthening transport infrastructure.”
Ogierd Geblewicz (PL, EPP), President of West Pomerania, recalled that when Poland joined NATO, it was decided that Szczecin, the capital of the region, would host the Multinational Corps Northeast. “This is the main command centre for the northern part of NATO’s eastern flank. On a daily basis, we host 500 officers from 20 NATO countries, and we strive to support this corps in every respect, including providing education for their children.” Geblewicz also referred to the Drawsko training ground, where NATO soldiers carry out advanced large-scale manoeuvres. “As regional authorities responsible for regional infrastructure, we must ensure all the infrastructure surrounding this training ground. Today we see that it is necessary to strengthen our infrastructure under the Zero Use system, so that the roads used daily by civilians can be better adapted for operational military purposes.”
Members held a fruitful debate on the current initiatives and state of play on defence by the European Commission with Klaus Welle, Special Advisor to the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, former Secretary-General of the European Parliament.
Members also discussed strategic opinions currently under preparation within the CoR.
Ricardo Rio (PT/EPP), Mayor of Braga and CoR rapporteur on the European Defence Readiness 2030, referred to the EU instrument SAFE – Security Action For Europe: “Currently the Regulation requires that only 65% of the end-product is of EU, Ukraine, or EEA EFTA origin. This is not enough to truly support EU industry and defence. Investment made by the EU and its Member States should benefit our defence industry — this is the only way to build strong EU defence supply chains. Clear European preference is key here. Hence why it should go up to 70%. Similarly, SAFE should require at least two EU Member States in the common procurement. Otherwise, this is not a common procurement, and EU tools should not finance it. Again, this is about building a strong EU defence and defence industry.”
María Isabel Urrutia De Los Mozos (ES/EPP), Regional Minister for the Presidency, Justice, Security and Administrative Simplification, Government of Cantabria and CoR rapporteur on the European Preparedness Union Strategy, explained how her region has been preparing itself by anticipating natural, industrial, fire, or flood threats: “We have a coast, but also mountains. We face risks of fire in forests but also floods. We have caves and geoparks. That diversity, which makes our land so rich, has given us experience in anticipation and prevention, not remaining mere reactive actors, but ensuring that we are ready. And we have done this from the territory, from the local level, from the region.” She stressed that “Excessive bureaucracy is a major obstacle to preparedness, prevention, and response to any type of risk, threat, crisis, or emergency. Public procurement legislation must be revised also from the perspective of crisis preparedness.” The rapporteur also noted what she described as a major barrier in the proposed strategy: “A real role of regional and local authorities in Europe’s preparedness is absent. We reiterate that regional and local entities must have a prominent, real, and effective role in all phases of preparedness — anticipation, prevention, and response. We are strategic, and we cannot be left aside.”
Background
The Working Group on Defence (WG Defence) was established on 1 April 2025 by the Bureau of the European Committee of the Regions to reflect on and promote the contribution of local and regional authorities to the European Union’s evolving security and defence architecture.
Its creation follows the European Council’s calls for Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security in the wake of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and rising hybrid threats. The Working Group acts as a platform for inter-institutional cooperation with the European Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee (SEDE), the European Commission’s Project Group on Defence, and other institutional and territorial partners.
During the meeting, the WG Defence adopted its roadmap for the 2025–2027 period, focusing on the following priority areas:
• Investments in defence capabilities: ensuring EU funds strengthen regional industry ecosystems, SMEs, research centres, and dual-use projects.
• Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034: ensuring robust EU-level support for defence, security, and space, including a fivefold increase in defence allocations.
• Civil protection mechanism: strengthening community resilience, training, citizen awareness, and volunteer mobilisation at the local level.
• Transport: upgrading dual-use infrastructure, including rail corridors and border crossing points.
• Countering hybrid threats: enhancing cooperation between LRAs, Member States, and EU institutions to detect and respond to foreign information manipulation and interference.
The next meeting take places on 4 December in Brussels.