2022 will be the year of European defence”. These were the words of European Council President Charles Michel in October 2021. When he gave his speech at the Charlemagne Prize Award Ceremony in Aachen, no one expected that his statement would materialise in the way it did. Yes, headway was to be expected with the adoption of the Strategic Compass and European countries demonstrating commitment to investing more in defence cooperation. Although there is still a world of difference between ambitions and reality, the degree of progress accomplished in the past twelve months was not foreseen. Over the course of the year, Europe has moved towards setting bigger strides in the realm of security and defence. Ironically, this progress is the result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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