ESC

Clarivate

JCR Category: Business in ESCI edition

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues Open access
Journal Impact FactorTM (2025) 1.5 Q3
Journal Citation IndicatorTM (2025) 0.25 Q4
Received: 2026-01-14  |  Accepted: 2026-03-18  |  Published: 2026-06-30

Title

European security, defence industry and sustainable development: Institutional transformation towards strategic autonomy and long-term resilience


Abstract

Security and stability constitute fundamental prerequisites for the long-term sustainable development of societies. The return of high-intensity interstate warfare to Europe following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has profoundly altered the European security environment and challenged long-established assumptions underpinning European integration and development. This article analyses the transformation of European security, the defence industry and the institutional role of the European Union in the context of efforts to strengthen strategic autonomy and long-term resilience. Drawing on a qualitative analytical approach based on the analysis of strategic documents, policy initiatives and academic literature, the article identifies structural weaknesses of the European defence technological and industrial base, assesses the growing involvement of the Union in defence industrial policy and defence financing, and highlights the broader implications of these processes for Europe’s sustainable development. The findings indicate that security, the defence industry and institutional adaptation are increasingly interconnected, and that the ability to ensure security and defence, reduce strategic dependencies and strengthen industrial resilience represents a key condition for Europe’s sustainable development in an increasingly unstable global environment.


Keywords

European security, defence industry, sustainable development, strategic autonomy, institutional transformation, resilience


JEL classifications

F52 , H56 , L64 , O19


URI

http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/6639


DOI


Pages

52-64


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Jurčák, Vojtech
Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia http://www.aos.sk
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Gubáš, František
Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia http://www.aos.sk
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Journal title

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues

Volume

13


Number

4


Issue date

June 2026


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 563  |  PDF downloads: 483

References


Andersson, J. J. (2023). Building weapons together (or not) – How to strengthen the European defence industry. European Union Institute for Security Studies https://sdu.sk/5oiJW

Search via ReFindit


Andor, L., & Optenhögel, U. (2023). Europe and the war in Ukraine. Foundation for European Progressive Studies https://feps-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Europe-and-the-war-in-Ukraine.pdf

Search via ReFindit


Andrassy, V. (2019). Slovak republic in NATO operations after the Warsaw summit. Politické vedy, 22(1), 80–107 https://doi.org/10.24040/politickevedy.2019.22.1.80-107

Search via ReFindit


Andrassy, V., & Ondruš, M. (2024). The gray zone and its place in security environment. Challenges to National Defence in Contemporary Geopolitical Situation, 90 https://doi.org/10.3849/cndcgs.2024.90

Search via ReFindit


Ball, J. (2023). The changing face of conflict: What is hybrid warfare? Global Security Review https://sdu.sk/KMm6g

Search via ReFindit


Barry, B., Barrie, D., Boyd, H., Childs, N., Gjerstad, M., Hackett, J., McGerty, F., Schreer, B., & Waldwyn, T. (2025). Defending Europe without the United States: Costs and consequences. The International Institute for Strategic Studies https://lnk.sk/ikuy3

Search via ReFindit


Becker, T., Berlin, M. P., Olofsgard, A., & Roine, J. (2025). Ukraine’s fight is our fight: The need for sustained international commitment. Free Network https://freepolicybriefs.org/2025/02/24/ukraine-international-commitment/

Search via ReFindit


Bocquillon, P., Doyle, S., James, T., Mason, R., Park, S., & Rosina, M. (2024). The effects of wars: lessons from the war in Ukraine. Policy Studies, 45(3–4), 261–281 https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2024.2334458

Search via ReFindit


Borrell Fonteles, J. (2023). The year that war returned to Europe. Publications Office of the European Union https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/2023/20230369_PDF_OF0323029ENN_002.pdf

Search via ReFindit


Budginaite-Froehly, J. (2025). The EU must become a strategic player in defense—alongside NATO. Atlantic Council https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/the-eu-must-become-a-strategic-player-in-defense-alongside-nato/

Search via ReFindit


Chehabeddine, M., Tvaronavičienė, M., & Vinogradova Zinkevič, I. (2023). Measuring countries’ performance in ecological security. Acta Montanistica Slovaca, 28(3), 603–620 https://doi.org/10.46544/AMS.v28i3.07

Search via ReFindit


Churikanova, O., Pilova, D., Giordano, B., Piccinetti, L., & Amoruso, M. (2025). Circular economy and smart specialisation business strategies: the Dnipropetrovsk region case. Insights into Regional Development, 7(1), 109–130 https://doi.org/10.70132/y8378689786

Search via ReFindit


Clapp, S. (2025). United States defense industrial base: How does it differ from the European defence technological and industrial base? European Parliamentary Research Service https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/777967/EPRS_BRI(2025)777967_EN.pdf

Search via ReFindit


Clapp, S., Höflmayer, M., Lazarou, E., & Pari, M. (2025). ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030. European Parliamentary Research Service https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/769566/EPRS_BRI(2025)769566_EN.pdf

Search via ReFindit


Cranny-Evans, S. (2025). Just in time is dead: How European manufacturers are gearing up for land warfare. European Security & Defence https://sdu.sk/GmsQ

Search via ReFindit


De Lemos Peixoto, S., Loi, G., Mazzocchi, R., Stieber, H., & Sabol, M. (2025). Defence financing and spending under the Economic Governance Framework. European Parliament - Directorate-General for Economy, Transformation and Industry https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2025/764354/ECTI_IDA(2025)764354_EN.pdf

Search via ReFindit


Dijkstra, H., Cavelty, M. D., Jenne, N., & Reykers, Y. (2022). War in Ukraine. Contemporary Security Policy, 43(3), 464–465 https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2022.2099085

Search via ReFindit


Dirma, V., Okunevičiūtė Neverauskienė, L., Tvaronavičienė, M., Danilevičienė, I., & Tamošiūnienė, R. (2024). The impact of renewable energy development on economic growth. Energies, 17(24), Article 6328 https://doi.org/10.3390/en17246328

Search via ReFindit


Dodds, K., Taylor, Z., Akbari, A., Broto, V. C., Detterbeck, K., Inverardi-Ferri, C., & Woon, C. Y. (2023). The Russian invasion of Ukraine: Implications for politics, territory and governance. Territory, Politics, Governance, 11(8), 1519–1536 https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2023.2256119

Search via ReFindit


Ellison, J., Cox, M., Hanhimäki, J. M., Harrison, H. M., Ludlow, N. P., Romano, A., & Zubok, V. (2023). The war in Ukraine. Cold War History, 23(1), 121–206 https://doi.org/10.1080/14682745.2023.2162329

Search via ReFindit


European Commission. (2025a). ASAP - Boosting defence production. European Commission - Defence Industry and Space https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/asap-boosting-defence-production_en

Search via ReFindit


European Commission. (2025b). EDF - Developing tomorrow's defence capabilities. European Commission - Defence Industry and Space https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/european-defence-fund-edf-official-webpage-european-commission_en

Search via ReFindit


European Commission. (2025c). EDIP - A dedicated programme for defence. European Commission - Defence Industry and Space https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/edip-dedicated-programme-defence_en

Search via ReFindit


European Commission. (2025d). EDIRPA - Procuring together defence capabilities. European Commission - Defence Industry and Space https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/edirpa-addressing-capability-gaps_en

Search via ReFindit


European Council. (2024). Think Tank reports on the invasion of Ukraine 2022 – February 2024 https://sdu.sk/RLTVT

Search via ReFindit


European Council. (2025). European Peace Facility https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/european-peace-facility/

Search via ReFindit


European Parliament. (2025). Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2024. Official Journal of the European Union https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52025IP0058

Search via ReFindit


European Union. (2025). White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030. European Commission https://sdu.sk/DSAY

Search via ReFindit


Genini, D. (2025a). How the war in Ukraine has transformed the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Yearbook of European Law, Article yeaf003 https://doi.org/10.1093/yel/yeaf003

Search via ReFindit


Genini, D. (2025b). Countering hybrid threats: How NATO must adapt (again) after the war in Ukraine. New Perspectives, 33(2), 122–149 https://doi.org/10.1177/2336825X251322719

Search via ReFindit


Götz, E., & Ekman, P. (2024). Russia’s war against Ukraine: Context, causes, and consequences. Problems of Post-Communism, 71(3), 193–205 https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2024.2343640

Search via ReFindit


Hartley, K. (2024). European defence policy: Prospects and challenges. Defence and Peace Economics, 35(4), 504–515 https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2185425

Search via ReFindit


Hellemeier, L. F. (2025). Europe’s defence industry more than two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. European Review of International Studies, 11(3), 439–469 https://sdu.sk/hu3F

Search via ReFindit


Hofer, A. (2024). The EU and its member states at war in Ukraine? Collective self-defence, neutrality and party status in the Russo-Ukraine war. European Papers, 8(3), 1697–1740 https://doi.org/10.15166/2499-8249/737

Search via ReFindit


Ilzetzki, E. (2025). Guns and growth: The economic consequences of defense buildups (Kiel Report No. 2). Kiel Institute for the World Economy https://sdu.sk/GqQK

Search via ReFindit


Ivančík, R., & Andrassy, A. (2025). Discussing EU’s security identity: Defence spending, strategic autonomy and transition from normative ambition to geopolitical reality. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 13(1), 411–425 http://doi.org/10.9770/c2892383535

Search via ReFindit


Ivančík, R., & Dušek, J. (2026a). Economic Security and the Transformation of European Union Economic Governance: Industrial Policy, Competitiveness, and Strategic Resilience. Economies, 14, 93 https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14030093

Search via ReFindit


Ivančík, R., & Dušek, J. (2026b). Insights into transformation of European security policy in the light of the war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical changes. Insights into Regional Development, 8(1), 10-25 http://doi.org/10.70132/c8725828569

Search via ReFindit


Ivančík, R., & Majchút, I. (2026). The European Defence Industrial Strategy as a catalyst for integration and sustainable growth: Opportunities, limits, and barriers. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 13(3), 38–52 http://doi.org/10.9770/t4336338823

Search via ReFindit


Jurčák, V., & Ivančík, R. (2023). Od Spoločnej bezpečnostnej a obrannej politiky k spoločnej armáde Európskej únie? Vojenské rozhledy, 32(1), 18–34 https://doi.org/10.3849/2336-2995.32.2023.01.018-034

Search via ReFindit


Jurčák, V., & Martaus, T. (2021). Lisbon treaty and security. Politické Vedy, 24(3), 33–50 https://doi.org/10.24040/politickevedy.2021.24.3.33-50

Search via ReFindit


Kandyuk, O. (2022). The European Union’s strategic autonomy, transatlantic shifts and Ukraine. Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies https://frictions.europeamerica.de/essay-kandyuk-0045-eu-strategic-autonomy-transatlantic-shifts-ukraine/

Search via ReFindit


Kazanský, R., & Andrassy, V. (2019). Conflict resolution approaches towards smart sustainability of internal relations. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 6(3), 1468–1484 https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2019.6.3(29

Search via ReFindit


Kleczka, M., Vandercruysse, L., Buts, C., & Du Bois, C. (2024). The spectrum of strategic autonomy in EU defence supply chains. Defence and Peace Economics, 35(4), 427–447 https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2180588

Search via ReFindit


Kollias, C., & Tzeremes, P. (2025). Europe’s defence industrial strategy and the EDTIB: A connectedness-based analysis of major European defence industries. European Security, 1–27 https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2025.2500296

Search via ReFindit


Malešević, S. (2025). The return of war in Europe: Contemporary sociology and organised violence. European Journal of Sociology, 1–35 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003975625100131

Search via ReFindit


Mattelaer, A. (2023). What future European defence and technological industrial basis (EDTIB) do we want/need? Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations https://www.egmontinstitute.be/what-future-european-defence-and-technological-industrial-basis-edtib-do-we-want-need/

Search via ReFindit


Michaels, E., & Sus, M. (2024). (Not) Coming of age? Unpacking the European Union’s quest for strategic autonomy in security and defence. European Security, 33(3), 383–405 https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2024.2376603

Search via ReFindit


Mills, C. (2025). Military assistance to Ukraine (February 2022 to January 2025). UK Parliament https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9477/

Search via ReFindit


Möller, A. (2025). A changing Europe: Strategic autonomy and security in 2025 and beyond. Social Europe https://www.socialeurope.eu/a-changing-europe-strategic-autonomy-and-security-in-2025-and-beyond

Search via ReFindit


Okunevičiūtė Neverauskienė, L., Dirma, V., Tvaronavičienė, M., & Danilevičienė, I. (2025). Assessing the role of renewable energy in the sustainable economic growth of the European Union. Energies, 18(4), 1–23 https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040760

Search via ReFindit


Ossa, H. (2025). European strategic autonomy in the transatlantic security context: American perceptions of European security and defence integration 1998–2022. European Security, 34(3), 495–518 https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2025.2464530

Search via ReFindit


Poli, E., & Candura, A. R. (2023). Annexation of Crimea to Russia: An analysis of geopolitical events for didactic use. CoESPU Magazine, 3(23), 3 https://doi.org/10.32048/Coespumagazine3.23.3

Search via ReFindit


Pöllänen, I.-S. (2025). A stronger European defence industry, a safer Europe. Helsinki Security Forum https://helsinkisecurityforum.fi/news/a-stronger-european-defence-industry-a-safer-europe/

Search via ReFindit


Pszczel, R. (2024). Europe’s security without America: An imperative of the moment or a dangerous idea? Centre for Eastern Studies https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2024-11-15/europes-security-without-america-imperative-moment-or-a

Search via ReFindit


Pynnöniemi, K., & Parppei, K. (2024). Understanding Russia’s war against Ukraine: Political, eschatological and cataclysmic dimensions. Journal of Strategic Studies, 47(6–7), 832–859 https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2024.2379395

Search via ReFindit


Raik, K., Terlikowski, M., & Baumann, M. (2025). Beyond burden sharing: Conceptualizing the European pillar of NATO. German Council on Foreign Relations https://doi.org/10.60823/DGAP-25-42323-en

Search via ReFindit


Riddervold, M., & Rieker, P. (2024). Finally coming of age? EU foreign and security policy after Ukraine. European Security, 33(3), 497–516 https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2024.2376616

Search via ReFindit


Roy, A. (2013). Russian Intervention in Georgia 2008. Oxford Academic https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590636.003.0007

Search via ReFindit


Santopinto, F. (2025). The ReArm Europe Plan: Squaring the circle between integration and national sovereignty. Institute for International and Strategic Affairs https://www.iris-france.org/en/the-rearm-europe-plan-squaring-the-circle-between-integration-and-national-sovereignty/

Search via ReFindit


Tóth, A., & Farkas, T. (2023). Opportunities and directions for the evolution of command and control systems in the context of multi-domain operations. Vojenské reflexie, 18(3), 59–73 https://doi.org/10.52651/vr.a.2023.3.59-73

Search via ReFindit


Vachudova, M. A., & Koval, N. (2024). Ukraine’s challenge to Europe: The EU as an ethical and powerful geopolitical actor. Ethics & International Affairs, 38(3), 308–332 https://www.google.com/search?q=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0892679424000364

Search via ReFindit


Varma, T. (2024). European Strategic Autonomy: The Path to a Geopolitical Europe. The Washington Quarterly, 47(1), 65–83 https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2024.2327820

Search via ReFindit


Wilkinson, B. (2020). The EU’s defence technological and industrial base. European Parliament - Policy Department for External Relations https://doi.org/10.2861/048197

Search via ReFindit


Wolff, G. B. (2024). The European defence industrial strategy: Important, but raising many questions. Bruegel https://sdu.sk/Ld8Y

Search via ReFindit


Wolff, G. B., Steinbach, A., & Zettelmeyer, J. (2025). The governance and funding of European rearmament. Bruegel https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/governance-and-funding-european-rearmament

Search via ReFindit


Wrange, J. (2026). Strategic autonomy: A “quantum leap forward” on European total defence? European Journal of International Security https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2025.10034

Search via ReFindit