European defence industry underlines its readiness to support a closer EU-UK cooperation

The Board of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), comprising 22 direct member companies, and 10 national associations, convened in London today (22 May 2025) in the framework of its 2025 Convention, hosted by its UK member association ADS. 

The ASD Board makes the following declaration: 

“The ASD Board welcomes the Security and Defence Partnership signed at the EU-UK Leaders’ Summit in London earlier this week. 

The ASD Board wishes to express that the European defence industry is committed, fully able and ready to rapidly increase production further, deliver at pace, and meet European needs with state-of-the art equipment and solutions. 

Although no longer part of the European Union, the UK remains deeply embedded within and an integral part of Europe’s defence industrial ecosystem. Decades of collaborative defence projects, shared values, common interests and similar strategic challenges continue to bind the UK and EU closely together.

Buy European is a strategic imperative. We must drastically reduce critical non-European dependencies.  A strong and innovative European defence industry is indispensable for Europe’s security – it is a defence capability in itself.

Ensuring that future cooperation is structured to enhance Europe’s resilience, industrial scale and strategic autonomy will benefit both the EU and the UK, which should be underpinned by clear, shared commitments to maximise joint impact. 

Given the challenging and dynamic geopolitical environment, timely and coordinated action is now essential. We therefore call upon all relevant stakeholders at EU, UK, and national level to quickly implement the next steps.”