EU member states waste tens of billions of euros annually due to the lack of collective defence procurement.

Omissions

• The 'tens of billions' figure is an estimate cited by EU institutions rather than a precisely quantified amount; the exact methodology and original source of this estimate are not transparently disclosed on the EEAS page.
• The EEAS page does not specify a precise year or period for the estimate, making it difficult to pin the figure to a specific annual dataset.
• The ECIPE policy brief notes that only around €30 billion of defence contracts were recorded in the EU's TED procurement database out of €280 billion total spending in 2023, but not all of the remaining €250 billion represents 'waste' — much of it is procurement below TED thresholds, classified spending, or national-level contracts that may be efficient at national scale.
• The claim does not distinguish between different types of waste (duplication, lack of interoperability, missed economies of scale, higher unit costs).

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean External Action Service (EEAS)The lack of cooperation between member states on defence is estimated to cost tens of billions euros per year.
• SecondaryEuropean Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS)Total EU defence expenditure reached €381 billion in 2025, but increased spending has not translated into commensurate growth in joint acquisition.
• SecondaryECIPE (European Centre for International Political Economy)TED recorded only around €30 billion of defence contracts in 2023, compared with total defence spending of €280 billion across the EU. In other words, just over 10% of defence procurement was published in the EU's official procurement journal.