European Defence Industrial Strategy with Integration of Ukraine provides for EUR 1.5 billion investments

The first-ever European Defence Industrial Strategy aims to develop a high-quality, pan-European defence industrial complex with full integration of Ukraine, in line with the EU’s strategic compass.

“We want to invest more, we should invest better, which largely means investing together and investing European,” stated Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager.

Margrethe Vestager also announced that the second document that was adopted – the Defence Industry Programme – will take over the role of the instruments we set up in response to the war in Europe referring to the decision to increase artillery shell production, which is already underway.

In addition, a legal framework will be created to encourage Member States to cooperate more, for instance through common procurement or joint life-cycle management of defence products.

“Finally, we will enable the Member States to set up European Defence Projects of Common Interest, so they can join forces on strategic projects that no country can do alone. To support this, the Programme has an initial budget of 1.5 billion euros. This budget, used strategically, can serve to incentivise the type of actions that help our Member States deliver. We propose to achieve the goal, by 2030, of procuring 40% of equipment in a collaborative manner, and to procure 50% of equipment within the EU,” the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission stated describing the goals.

“It is a priority to ensure a real pan-European defence market where this value creation is well distributed and shared across the Union. A continental defence market should create opportunities for every European player. Some of the most innovative companies are small players, many coming from the civilian side, whose products can help give our militaries an edge,” said Vestager, adding, “The Strategy and Programme we present today tackle this head on, by incentivizing cross-border cooperation and putting a strong focus on boosting the role of SMEs and small mid-caps. We will do that through a dedicated funding.”

She once again reiterated the plans of the European Commission “to fully integrate the Ukrainian defence industry into this ecosystem”. “We have seen how technological breakthroughs can help get an edge on the battleground. Our new defence innovation office in Kyiv will help transmit advancements in both directions (meaning this will help both Ukraine and Europe),” explained Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager.

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