Recharging European Defence - European Forum Alpbach 2025
Ulf M Steindl: Recharging European Defence - European Forum Alpbach 2025. Austria in Europe Days: Security Track Report. AIES Comment 2025/8.
14.11.2025
This year’s European Forum Alpbach (EFA25) occurred – once more – during a period of rapid changes for Europe, both in respect of the continent’s role in the international system and the worsening security situation within it. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has entered its fourth year, with its continuously expanding strategic drone- and missile-bombing campaign against Ukrainian cities and the gruelling attritional fighting along the frontline. In parallel, Moscow has further expanded its hybrid and greyzone warfare against the rest of Europe utilizing an array of tools, such as spreading disinformation, expanding sabotage and sending unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) both across land and sea borders.
Donald J. Trump’s return to Washington D.C. for a second presidency has likewise rattled Western allies, as his administration has unleashed a trade-war against friend and foe alike and put US commitment to Europe in question. The expanding struggle between the United States and China, leveraging state tools to steer trade through tariffs, sanctions, and export controls, has once more showcased Europe’s supply chain vulnerabilities.
Within this continuous maelstrom of bad news, the EU and Europe as a whole still struggle to find their footing. In each of EFA’s four thematic tracks – Climate, Finance and Economy, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and especially Security – the shifting sands in the international system set the tone for discussions. No better example than the Austria in Europe Days’ Security Track is necessary: despite the country’s continuing neutrality, the issue of creating a European Defence Union and reinvigorating Europe’s defence industrial base presented the thematic red line.
This first of two reports on the Austria in Europe Days thus looks back at the discussions during EFA25 on how to “Recharge European Defence”: the continent’s defence industry, its armed forces, but also its very commitment to self-reliant defence.