Ten European countries signed on Monday in Paris the creation of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition, an alliance described as “purely defensive” aimed at building a common ballistic missile interception architecture for the continent.
The initiative, named FREYJA, brings together Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. It was spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, who took advantage of the fact that Ukraine’s allies were already convened that day in the French capital for the Coalition of Volunteers summit.
The declaration sets as a priority developing “as quickly as possible” a capability against ballistic threats. According to the document, Europe requires a response based on “collective effort, technological openness and trustworthy industrial cooperation,” and the new structure will complement systems already in place in member states.
To achieve this, the bloc plans to establish common requirements, technical working groups and governance mechanisms, with a roadmap aimed at reaching initial operational capabilities. Members also committed to promoting joint research projects, exploring financing avenues and strengthening data sharing, in a framework that gives a central role to Ukraine’s “unique” experience, forged during the Russian invasion that began in 2022. FREYJA will remain open to other countries that share its principles and objectives.
Against that backdrop, the leaders present spoke. Pedro Sánchez announced Spain’s participation via social networks and said that “cooperating is the best way to face the challenges of the present and the future.” Volodymyr Zelensky described the meeting as one that “can, and must, become a historic milestone” and called for anti-ballistic coverage that is “solid, reliable and less costly than other systems.”
Rob Jetten, the Dutch prime minister, justified the initiative by citing “the rapid increase in Russia’s production of ballistic missiles” and urged pooling resources in technology and industry to achieve “a shared shield.” His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said that Stockholm and aerospace manufacturer Saab will play a significant role in the project.
The meeting was divided into a technical segment and a leaders’ segment. Institutional representatives included the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte.
On the business side, SENER attended for Spain, along with France’s Safran and Thales, Germany’s Diehl Defence and Hensoldt, Italy’s Leonardo, Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Ukraine’s Fire Point. The list was completed by the MBDA consortium — a pan-European missile manufacturer partly owned by Airbus — and Eurosam, responsible for the SAMP/T air defense system.
(With information from EFE and Europa Press)