EU–NATO Strategic Coordination and Capability Alignment: The Transatlantic Logic of Readiness 2030

The Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 and the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030 define Europe’s new approach to defence integration through a single guiding principle: complementarity, not duplication. Both documents emphasise that the Readiness 2030 framework is developed “in full coherence with NATO capability targets” and that “EU–NATO cooperation is key across all areas of the Roadmap.” This formulation reflects a strategic consensus: Europe’s defence autonomy must reinforce, not compete with, the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture. The EU’s effort to expand its industrial, fiscal, and technological capacity serves as a force multiplier for NATO by closing critical capability gaps and sustaining the long-term resilience of transatlantic deterrence. The documents present Readiness 2030 as the European pillar of collective defence — a structure that strengthens the Alliance through industrial self-reliance, operational interoperability, and shared investment mechanisms. This approach institutionalises complementarity as the foundation of strategic credibility: Europe becomes stronger as a defence actor because it is embedded within the NATO architecture, and NATO becomes more sustainable because it is supported by Europe’s expanding industrial and fiscal capacity.