Parliament gives green light to first European Defence Industry Programme

The Regulation, already informally agreed with the Council, will establish the first ever European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). It aims to strengthen Europe’s defence technological and industrial base and boost its defence capabilities.

Of the programme’s budget of EUR 1.5 billion, EUR 300 million would be earmarked for the Ukraine Support Instrument. The co-legislators also agreed to create a Fund for Accelerating the Transformation of Defence Supply Chains (the FAST instrument) to add an indicative amount of at least EUR 150 million through additional financial contributions.

During negotiations with the Council, Parliament insisted on increasing the programme’s budget through additional contributions from the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument. In addition, the programme allows Member States to maximise the use of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM) by diverting and reallocating unspent funds from the RRM to finance EDIP projects.

MEPs also defended the “buy European” principle: in order to be eligible for public funding for procurement of equipment, the cost of components from non-partner third countries cannot exceed 35% of the total estimated cost.

Support for Ukraine

The programme will establish a legal framework for European projects of common interest in the field of defence. To be eligible for funding, they will have to involve at least four Member States. Ukraine will also be able to take part in these projects. The regulation will also create a Ukraine Support Instrument to help modernise the Ukrainian defence industry and facilitate integration with its European counterpart.

Statements by the rapporteurs

“EDIP marks an important step towards a more efficient, faster and truly European approach to defence procurement and the reinforcement of European defence capabilities. It is designed to have a lasting impact, to serve as a reference point for future initiatives and to shape the way European cooperation in defence production is organised after 2027,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (Renew, Germany), chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defence.

“EDIP is the EU’s first truly European defence instrument. In the face of Russia’s full-scale war against our neighbour and repeated attacks against our countries, we must strengthen common defence systems and increase our defence capabilities collectively. EDIP will allow us to build a more resilient and sovereign Europe, through joint investment, common acquisition of the European defence technological and industrial base and further integration of Ukrainian and European defence industries. This is essential to ensure that we can protect our democracies effectively and autonomously,” said Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D, France), co-rapporteur of the Security and Defence Committee.

François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, France), co-rapporteur of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, said: “This programme represents a major step forward for the security of the European continent and the development of our defence industry. After decades of dangerous dependencies that threatened the sovereignty of our democracies and the protection of our countries, the EDIP programme will reverse the import dependency that prevailed in Europe. It will serve to strengthen our industrial base in a real way, enabling us to ensure autonomously that our armed forces have the means to fulfil their mission.

Next steps

The legislation was adopted by 457 votes in favour, with 148 votes against and 33 abstentions. It now remains for Member States to formally endorse it before publication in the Official Journal.

Background

On 5 March 2024, the Commission presented the proposal for a regulation establishing the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). EDIP seeks to boost defence industrial preparedness by bridging the gap between short-term emergency measures, such as the Ammunition Production Support Regulation (ASAP) and the instrument for the reinforcement of the European defence industry through common procurement (EDIRPA), and a more structural, long-term approach.

The European defence industrial and technological base is made up of a number of large multinationals, mid-caps and more than 2,000 SMEs, with an estimated combined annual turnover of €70 billion.

More information: European Parliament