Several Members of the European Parliament have put forward a proposal to establish a European Defence Union — a body envisioned to operate in coordination with NATO while also building the continent's own autonomous security capacity, with Ukraine identified as a prospective strategic partner within that framework.
Van Lanschot, an MEP backing the initiative, laid out its details in remarks carried by a prominent broadcast outlet. The proposal arrived against a backdrop of ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, alongside questions about the reliability of US security commitments, van Lanschot noted, adding that those pressures had led to a conclusion that European nations needed the capacity to provide for their own collective defence.
Van Lanschot conveyed that NATO retained considerable worth in the view of the proposal's backers and that strengthening the Alliance remained a shared goal, while also underlining that Europe needed the capacity to defend itself independently.
Van Lanschot outlined a structure in which the proposed defence union would sit within NATO's framework yet retain the capacity to take unilateral action whenever Article 5's collective-defence provisions remained untriggered. The phrasing he used — "separable but not separate" — pointed to an arrangement where a European defence structure would hold its own distinct capabilities yet remain woven into the broader alliance framework.
Van Lanschot put forward the position that Ukraine deserves a place at the centre of any emerging European security framework, alongside non-EU allies — a grouping that includes Norway and the United Kingdom — with the statement adding that a European Defence Union could operate at full capacity only when those three partners were brought into its structure. He described Ukraine's armed forces as among the most capable and technologically advanced on the continent.
Van Lanschot noted that attitudes across European nations toward Ukraine had shifted considerably in the period following Russia's full-scale military offensive, which began in February 2022. Over the span of roughly five years, the bloc's stance moved from prioritising support for Ukraine's ability to endure the conflict toward an acknowledgement that the relationship had become reciprocal — with the MEP noting that Ukraine, as a partner, held considerable value to offer in return, particularly in areas of technological advancement and collective resilience.
Under the proposal, van Lanschot noted, Ukrainian service members would have the option of joining a future European Rapid Reaction Force on a voluntary basis.
Six pillars would form the backbone of the proposed union: a dedicated Security Council at the European level, a unified Military Staff, an intelligence-gathering centre for military affairs, a Strategic Support Unit, a Rapid Reaction Force held in reserve for swift deployment, and a deterrence arrangement drawing on Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union — the provision that binds member states to come to one another's aid. Under the proposed framework, political decisions at the union level would flow through the European Security Council as its central governing body.
Decisions under the proposal would be taken by qualified majority vote, removing the requirement for unanimous agreement — an approach designed to address the deadlock that has repeatedly stalled EU foreign and security policy. Any new arrangement put forward would be built to work alongside NATO rather than serve as its substitute.
The proposal arrives against a backdrop of EU-level discussions over bolstering the bloc's own defence posture and lessening reliance on Washington, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen having called, in her most recent State of the Union address, for a dedicated consultation mechanism to be established — one that would activate whenever a member state faces a security threat, drawing on the framework of NATO's Article 4 as a template. Among her proposals was the creation of a European Security Council, with Ukraine named as a member.
