The industrial dimension of the Security Union (own-initiative opinion)

We welcome the determination of the new European Commission to enhance the Union's technological sovereignty, and stress the importance of the security sector in this respect. There is no security without technology, and Europe must master the technologies that are crucial for its security.

To achieve this objective, we call upon the European Commission to launch a strategy that strengthens Europe's industrial and technological capabilities in the field of security. This is much needed in particular in sensitive areas where dependence on non-European suppliers may become a security risk in itself. The strategy has to support the objectives of the new Internal Security Strategy and complement it with an industrial dimension. It should help meet the current and future capability needs of European end-users and address the key challenges that the sector faces in Europe: market fragmentation, lack of long-term capability and technology planning, and incoherence of EU policies and funding instruments.