The European Union is significantly expanding its maritime defence expenditures as risks to its ports, subsea cables, and offshore energy infrastructure continue to escalate.
With roughly 90 per cent of the bloc’s trade, energy imports, and internet traffic traversing its waters, Europe remains acutely exposed to hybrid operations, cyber intrusions, border friction, and deliberate sabotage of critical infrastructure, much of it attributed to Russian actors.
Following the revision of its Maritime Security Strategy in March 2023, capital flows have accelerated. Member states allocated €343 billion to defence in 2024, a 19 per cent increase on the previous year, while equipment procurement surged 39 per cent. Outlays reached a historic €392 billion in 2025, heavily underpinned by the €150 billion SAFE instrument within the EU’s Readiness 2030 framework.
Shipbuilding commands a substantial portion of this investment. The EU’s naval industrial base delivered €13.7 billion worth of vessels in 2025, with surface combatants comprising two-thirds of output. France, Germany, Italy, and Spain together generated 82 per cent of that production. Major yards — Naval Group, Fincantieri, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, and Navantia — are advancing the collaborative European Patrol Corvette programme while simultaneously securing multi-billion-euro export contracts with Norway and Indonesia.
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