European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Closing keynote speech by Commissioner Kubilius at the Conference on the future of the UK-EU relationship Brussels, 30 June 2026 Good afternoon, I am honoured that you asked me to deliver the closing keynote at this important conference. Important for Britain and important for the European Union. I understand that because of this conference, the UK government toda...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Closing keynote speech by Commissioner Kubilius at the Conference on the future of the UK-EU relationship Brussels, 30 June 2026 Good afternoon, I am honoured that you asked me to deliver the closing keynote at this important conference. Important for Britain and important for the European Union. I understand that because of this conference, the UK government today announced an increase of the defence budget. This whole day you have been discussing the future of our EU – UK relationship. And what everyone wants after a long day of conferencing: a nice long speech by a European Commissioner. You must really miss us a lot! And I have to admit: I miss you too. I have always admired Great Britain. Your history, culture, democracy. So it is a great pleasure to discuss how we can work closer together on our defence. We meet on a nice sunny day in June – and the timing is not coincidental. Ten years after the Brexit referendum. But I get my inspiration from history. I think today of a different event, also in June. Of an event that was maybe the very first step towards European integration. European integration in embryo. And this was the proposal made in June 1940 – at a moment of extreme danger – Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands already defeated, conquered, occupied. Just after Dunkirk: 300,000 soldiers withdrawn to Britain, leaving behind all tanks, vehicles and heavy equipment. A colossal military disaster. Paris already taken, the fall of France – imminent. At this moment of great danger the British government made an extraordinary proposal, supported by Winston Churchill and Charles De Gaulle: to form a political union between Britain and France. The statement said: "France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations but one Franco-British Union. The constitution of the Union will provide for joint organs of defence, foreign, financial and economic policies. Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain. Every British subject will become a citizen of France.” This proposal was the most far reaching proposal for political and military unity before or since. One of the fathers of this idea was by the way someone I have been known to quote at times: Jean Monnet, god-father of European unity. This proves it was a good idea. We know this British-French unity never happened. It came too late. But the idea that in Europe unity brings strength kept its value. And why do I mention this story today? To make clear: Let ' s not wait for disaster to strike. To work together for our defence. Britain and the European Union must work together for the defence of Europe. Right now. Right now, when we are still able to prevent disaster. When we can deter Russian aggression. Can prevent Putin from testing us. It is true – Ukraine is starting to stabilise the frontline and even push back. Ukrainian drones have stopped the Russian advance. They are disrupting Russian logistics and striking deep behind enemy lines. Crimea - without gasoline. Long lines for gasoline in Moscow. But that Ukraine is prevailing does not mean the war is over. It does not mean Russia is weak. Russia is still outproducing us. And is able to use millions of drones. Russia ' s international ‘ friends ' ensure supply chains of components. Russia is responding with desperate attacks, like the recent attack on the 1000 year old Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery. Or provocations against the Baltics and Eastern Flank. The more Ukraine prevails, the more desperate Putin gets. We should be prepared for more and worse provocations to come. Putin is still a danger, to European security. Putin is still willing and able to test Article 5. And at the same time, our American allies are increasingly calling on us Europeans to take more responsibilities for our defence. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently even went further: He called on Europe and not just to take primary responsibility, but to take the lead on European defence. And he announced a review of American forces. Which means America may move some capabilities, especially “ material” capabilities to other parts of the world. And we have to be prepared. Not in the distant future. But soon. So that means that we, Europeans will have to take a greater role in providing defence capabilities. Especially strategic capabilities we lack – strategic enablers like air to air refuelling and space data intelligence. And when the Americans talk about Europeans, they don't talk about the European Union or its members. They talk about all of us, Europeans. Also about you – our British friends from the United Kingdom. So we are at a decisive moment, and need to take decisive action. We have a good foundation for action. This last year we have achieved things no-one could imagine ten years ago. In the European Union we have created a financial big bang for our defence. With 150 billion euro in SAFE loans. 60 billion euro loans for Ukraine ' s Defence. Member States have pledged 6.8 trillion for defence by 2035. The next step: the coming production big bang. Ramping up production capacity and defence production on a continental scale. We are mobilising our instruments such as the European Defence Industrial Programme to support defence industrial ramp up and address bottlenecks in our defence supply chains. We are cutting red tape for defence industry, supporting massive pan-European defence projects, are improving military mobility and we are looking at how we can create a more efficient defence market in Europe. In short: we ' re supporting Member States and NATO for our defence. With EU added value: EU laws. EU money. EU scale. EU coordination. EU collaboration. Last year we did a lot to strengthen our defence capabilities. But still Russia with its war economy is able to outproduce us, all together - EU and United Kingdom together. Such a difference in the numbers creates temptation for Putin to test us. We are still learning how to mass produce “good enough” defence products, not only “haute couture”. Our industrial cooperation is vital in order to change those numbers. Last year we signed the Security and Defence Partnership with Great Britain. To give form to our joint responsibility for security on the European Continent. Because there can be no security or peace in Europe without Great Britain. To start with: Britain has a powerful and innovative defence industry. Our Member States can buy British – because our Member States decide by themselves where to spend their own national defence money. And Member States' money is the lion ' s share of European defence spending. Probably a hundred times more than we are going to spend on the EU level. When we are spending European money: up to 35% of components in products procured with the help of EU funds can come from outside the EU. This can be significantly increased if both of us decide to sign an agreement with the EU to participate in the SAFE instrument. Like we did with Canada. As a military power, Great Britain is a cornerstone of NATO. Defence and deterrence on the European Continent depend on Britain with its strong army, navy, air force and nuclear deterrent. Britain is responding strongly to Russian provocations; Recently intercepting a Russian shadow fleet tanker. As you know I am from Lithuania – what makes me personally happy is Britain's strong commitment to NATOs Eastern Flank – with troops in Estonia. And although the European Union is now the strongest supporter of Ukraine worldwide, Britain has been a leading supporter of Ukraine. From Day one. Politically. financially. Last week you announced 750 million pounds for drones for Ukraine. And the United Kingdom is also one of the first to learn the lessons of the war in Ukraine. In last year ' s Strategic Defence Review you changed your warfare doctrine to the 20:40:40 doctrine. 20 percent of targets to be hit by heavy conventional weapons, 40% by light kamikaze drones, another 40% by heavy drones and missiles. So, that is the same as in Ukraine -where 80% of frontline targets are hit by drones. And I have often said: the Strategic Defence Review should be an example to us in the European Union, to also learn from Ukraine. As the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said: "The Ukrainian military forces are the strongest and most powerful in Europe." And President of Finland Alexander Stubb said: “there is no army in Europe or the United States, by the way, capable of conducting a modern war the way Ukraine is doing” I don ' t know if British generals would agree with this statement, that the Ukrainian army is the best in Europe and maybe in the world. But it would be difficult to understand if we in Europe would not take it as our vital interest to integrate the best European, or even global, military force of Ukraine, into our European defence architecture. And it would also be difficult to understand if the the European Union and its Member States did not join forces for our defence with the United Kingdom, one of the strongest military powers in Europe, and the strongest economic power on the European continent. The goal: to create a strong European pillar of NATO, able to take primary responsibility for the defence of the whole European continent. The UK is not part of the EU. Ukraine is not part of NATO, EU membership for Ukraine will take a while still. We have already the Security and Defence Partnership with the UK. But how can we work more closely together? And how can we at the same time make the European pillar of NATO stronger? In my view, the answer can be a European Defence Union. A union set up by those countries who want to work together more closely on the defence of Europe. Ukraine, but also the United Kingdom, and other countries, would be able to join forces with European Union Member States in establishing this European Defence Union. The most effective way to set it up would be: a new intergovernmental treaty. With a newly created leadership body, a European Security Council. And if Britain would join the Defence Union, it should certainly be part of this leadership body. The Security Council could be based on the current E5 leaders informal meetings on defence. They met again last week, in Berlin. France, Germany, Italy, Poland and United Kingdom. Where they agreed to strengthen collective security, defence industrial cooperation and support for Ukraine. In the same way, the European Security Council would be a platform to find big answers to big issues. Like for example: how to replace American capabilities if they are removed. How to set up 100,000 strong European rapid reaction force, if American soldiers would leave. How to develop pan-European defence projects, like the Eastern Flank Watch. It ' s possible to envisage a roadmap for the European Defence Union. It could start with an informal European Security Council. Then a new intergovernmental treaty on European Defence Union. First with pioneering countries who want to take part. Others can follow later. Then Ukraine can join. Then after that the formal set up European Security Council. Whatever form it takes, we must urgently step up our cooperation on defence. A lot has changed in the last ten years. We discovered last week that Brussels is no longer the city of eternal rain. And also today it is sunny. And we discovered in the last years, that the European Union is not only an economic giant, and a political giant, but also a giant in our defence. But a sleeping giant. And we are waking up, the sleeping giant. Defence has become the European Union ' s number one priority. And no-one predicted that ten years ago, or even five years ago. The European continent cannot be defended without Great Britain. And the European continent, is Great Britain ' s first line of defence. And if we join forces, we can succeed in the greatest challenge of our time. And deter Russian aggression, prevent war and preserve peace. SPEECH/26/1496
Speech Brief