Marek Opioła, a member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) who led a review of the EU's defense policy, stated on Thursday that achieving defense preparedness in the EU by 2030 remains challenging due to fragmented national systems and industrial bottlenecks. ^[1] The European Court of Auditors concluded in a new report that the EU is challenged in meeting its goal of being defense-ready by 2030. ^[2] Between 2020 and 2025, EU member states increased defense spending by 79% as a response to the Russian threat and an effort to meet Nato spending targets. ^[3] Between February 2022 and June 2023, 78% of EU governments' defense acquisitions were sourced outside the bloc, with the US alone representing 63%. ^[4] The ECA report noted that the EU is better prepared than before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but achieving the goal of defense readiness by the end of the decade would be difficult. ^[5] The report identifies years of underinvestment as the cause for insufficient ammunition and missile stocks, long production times, and logistical bottlenecks. ^[6] The audit recommends that the European defense industry expand production capacity, promote innovation, and strengthen partnerships. ^[7]