The text, prepared by the Security and Defence Committee, argues that the EU’s security and defence partnerships (SDPs) – which seek to bolster joint efforts in security and defence between the EU and key bilateral partners – are essential to respond effectively to current and future security threats and to strengthen the Union’s role as a global strategic actor. Parliament considers these partnerships a necessity rather than an option, as they support the EU’s strategic autonomy while remaining fully complementary to NATO and grounded in multilateral cooperation.

The text stresses that the EU is facing its most serious security situation since the Second World War, driven primarily by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also by broader hybrid threats, terrorism, cyberattacks, and risks linked to critical infrastructure, as well as those linked to climate change. Russia, supported by partners such as Iran, North Korea and Belarus, is identified as the main…