This is a German initiative, which was already announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the summer of 2022, a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as a move aimed at further armoring Europe in the field of missile defense.

From the beginning, the “European Shield” of air defense was also perceived as a commitment by Germany to assume a leading role in the coordination of the European forces participating in NATO. And all this at a time when Berlin has begun to implement, albeit belatedly according to many, the NATO commitment to defense spending at 2%. Until recently, the German joint missile defense initiative was supported by 19 other countries.

From the Summit of the Ministers of Defense of NATO in Brussels, the German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius announced on Thursday morning that Greece and Turkey are now joining the German initiative, and at the same time, which was confirmed by the Greek counterpart who attended the Summit by Nikos Dendias.

From now on, a total of 21 countries participate in this initiative. However, the ones missing so far are France, which has submitted its own proposals, Poland and Italy, key countries, which Germany would in any case like to accompany it.

“Security is not something that is provided for free,” the German Minister of Defense emphasized from Brussels, referring to the 2% that Germany will allocate this year for defense spending and characterizing Germany as a “logistics hub for NATO.”

What is the European Sky Shield initiative?

According to the detailed information provided on its website by the German Ministry of Defense, the objective of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is “to strengthen the European pillar of joint air defense within the framework of NATO” and aims to integrate new air defense systems, but also more broadly of new defense capabilities under the leadership of the commander of NATO’s allied forces in Europe.

As the German Ministry of Defense clarifies, the term “air defense” means the ability to protect against air attacks or the ability to repel them using military systems of different ranges.

Air defense gaps in the European area are currently identified, according to the German Ministry of Defense, in all fields. From the field of short- and medium-range systems to repel short-range air attacks and threats using unmanned aircraft but also in air defense against long-range missile attacks, a field in which Russia has powerful weapons. In this field, however, Germany hastened to procure the Israeli Arrow 3 air defense system.

The two important benefits of the European Sky Shield initiative, according to German estimates, are firstly the intensification of operational cooperation and readiness within NATO and secondly the saving of resources, because within the framework of this cooperation equipment could be purchased in larger quantities at a lower cost and with more favorable maintenance and repair conditions.