Summary
- Europe faces an era of geopolitical uncertainty, demanding a stronger response to security threats. Increased defence spending is essential but not enough. To be truly prepared, the EU needs a whole-of-society approach.
- An EU Preparedness Act, partly inspired by the US Defense Production Act (DPA), would empower the EU to mobilise industrial capacity, protect critical infrastructure, safeguard supply chains and ensure access to raw materials during crises.
- Current EU emergency tools fall far short of the scope of the DPA because they lack the command-and-control authority needed to address systemic disruptions.
- While the DPA cannot be replicated wholesale, some of its provisions could be adapted to the EU legal context.
- The adoption of an EU Preparedness Act finds legal basis in existing treaty provisions and adheres to the principles of conferral, subsidiarity and proportionality.
Power, preparedness and peace
Si vis pacem, para bellum [If you want peace, prepare for war]
The French statesman Jean Monnet, credited by John Maynard Keynes with shortening the second world war by at least a year, was not a military strategist and never set foot on a battlefield. Yet, his commercial and financial expertise, international connections and efforts to coordinate Allied economies and ramp up American industrial production proved decisive in the Allies’ victory over the Third Reich.
His contributions show that wars are not won solely on the battlefield but also through economic planning, preparation and prowess. A strong and well-equipped army is indispensable, but military success depends on many other factors, including financial resources, manufacturing capacity, access to raw materials, infrastructure, energy security and logistics. Achieving victory—or, better yet, preventing conflict—requires a whole-of-society approach.
The EU is not currently at war. However, as NATO secretary general Mark Rutte and others have observed, it is not living in peacetime either. This “grey zone” demands readiness for what may come. In a November 2024 policy brief for ECFR, Laurence Boone and Nicu Popescu outlined actions the EU should take to navigate a world between war and peace. One of its key recommendations was the adoption of a European Defence Production Act, modelled on the US Defense Production Act (DPA) of the 1950s.
This policy brief examines that proposal in detail, analysing the US law and identifying mechanisms that could be adapted for the European context. It explores the extraordinary powers the act grants the US president and the role these powers play in the management of crises—whether armed conflict, major disruptions or natural disasters.
The objective of the brief is to evaluate the necessity, value and feasibility of such measures within the EU’s legal and institutional framework. This includes identifying regulatory gaps or shortcomings that an EU act could address, and examining the legal implications of granting such extraordinary powers to European institutions under EU law.
About the author:
Tiago Antunes is an associate senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations where he co-chairs the Wartime Economy Task Force with Nicu Popescu.