The European Defence Agency (EDA) hosted the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) at its headquarters on 9 September 2026, in a visit aimed at deepening cooperation.
The EUMC, chaired by General Seán Clancy of Ireland, is the EU's highest military body. It brings together the Chiefs of Defence of all 27 Member States to advise EU governments and steer EU military operations and capability development.
The visit — the EUMC’s first to EDA since 2011 — comes as EDA is increasingly a central platform for EU defence cooperation as Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and broader geopolitical competition strain the peace that has underpinned European integration.
Following an October 2025 mandate from EU leaders, EDA is expanding in four areas: research and innovation, including operational experimentation; capability development; joint procurement support; and internal organisational capacity.
“This increased role entrusted to EDA brings us naturally closer to key defence stakeholders, including the EU Military Committee,” said EDA Chief Executive André Denk in remarks to the EUMC delegation. He cited the Capability Development Priorities (CDP) and the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) as areas of close cooperation. “At the end of the day, what we do here serves the Chiefs of Defence.”
Clancy echoed the need for even closer ties. “The objective overall is that we have a common unity of effort, and that we're clear about the purpose: the defence and security of Europe — of our Member States, our citizens, our way of life, the values we uphold — are central to the work we do together.”
EDA, which is funded and directed by Ministries of Defence, believes that without closer coordination, higher national spending risks deepening fragmentation rather than resolving it — a concern for military readiness and interoperability.
EDA's current focus, backed by both military and civilian expertise, rests on five tasks, updated in 2024: identifying shared capability needs; driving joint research and technology; supporting capability development; aggregating demand for joint procurement; and acting as a bridge between defence and wider EU policy.