Europe’s Overlooked Allies: Why the Western Balkans Matter for EU Defence Readiness

This potential is based on significant investments in the national defence capabilities, including through the purchase of European military goods, but also the upgrading of the regions’ own defence industries. Moreover, most of the countries in the region have provided significant support to Ukraine and actively participate in CSDP missions. They also contribute to strategic enablers, such as military mobility, joint training and medical support, assuming increased responsibility for the security in South-East Europe.

The Western Balkan’s existing capabilities align with several EU defence priorities outlined in the Readiness 2030 agenda, particularly in artillery ammunition production, drone systems, and logistics. Integration of the region’s capabilities into EU frameworks would support Europe’s preparedness for high-intensity conflicts. Despite this clear potential, the EU’s defence and enlargement policies often operate in separate “silos”. In order to achieve true European strategic autonomy, the EU must adopt a more synergistic approach, leveraging the Western Balkans’ defence contributions as a reason to accelerate their integration into the Union. To that effect, full CFSP alignment and rule of law improvements in the Western Balkans are as important as the region’s material contribution.

The Western Balkans are evolving from security consumers to proactive contributors to European defence. Their rising investments, operational commitments, industrial capabilities, and strategic location make them indispensable allies. As the EU seeks to meet the challenges of an increasingly volatile security environment, full engagement with the region—politically, operationally, and economically—offers a strategic opportunity to enhance resilience, autonomy, and readiness across Europe.

Policy recommendations:

Institutional integration: Create formal pathways for Western Balkan participation in EU defence initiatives, such as EDIP, the European Defence Fund, research and innovation actions.

Industrial investment: Provide targeted EU investment to the region’s defence and dual-use industries to boost production capacity, enhance supply chain resilience, and enable joint ventures with EU companies.

Joint procurement and training: Encourage joint procurement schemes and military training to ensure interoperability and cost-effectiveness. Boost the smaller markets in the region through EU-wide economies of scale.

Infrastructure funding: Prioritize funding of dual-use infrastructure in the region to support military mobility and logistical resilience.

Transparency and governance: Strengthen rule-of-law and anti-corruption mechanisms in defence procurement to ensure responsible use of increasing defence budgets.

Link to enlargement: Use defence cooperation as a strategic incentive to reinvigorate EU enlargement and vice-versa – flag the region’s contribution to European defence readiness to push enlargement forward.

Private sector partnerships: Foster long-term partnerships between Western Balkan defence SMEs and EU firms to integrate regional producers into European supply chains and innovation ecosystems.

You can read the report here.

The French newspaper La Croix published an article discussing the report, highlighting its key findings and analysis. You can read the article here (in French).

The italian magazine affarinternazionali published an article discussing the report. You can read it here (in italian).

The South-East Europe Programme of ELIAMEP is a member of the IGNITA network which is led by led by OSF-WB.