European strategic autonomy requires Germany to prioritise European defence companies over deeper industrial integration with the United States

The political and economic process by which European countries pool policy-making through the European Union, including treaty reform, enlargement, the single market, common budgets and shared foreign, security and defence policy.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a letter of intent to deepen cooperation between their countries' defence industries as NATO members seek to replenish depleted weapons stocks. The framework includes negotiations over Germany's planned acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles, but the purchase terms and wider industrial commitments have not yet been finalised.