MEPs and Council agree on measures to spice up defence investments | Atualidade

The laws informally agreed upon on Wednesday night between MEPs and the Danish Presidency of the Council will improve funding for defence-related funding by amending current EU programmes – the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), Horizon Europe, the European Defence Fund (EDF), the Digital Europe programme (DEP) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) – to channel EU funding in direction of defence.

During negotiations, MEPs advocated for the scope of the measures to incorporate resilience, comparable to important infrastructure safety, catastrophe response, and election integrity. They pushed for the scheme to additionally enhance resilience in opposition to cyber threats on important digital infrastructure.

MEPs additionally advocated for the laws to permit for extra help for the defence business of Ukraine, and secured the nation’s participation into the European Defence Fund.

The Horizon Europe programme will help civil purposes with potential navy purposes (twin use), whereas advancing civilian utility use. This shall be underneath a focused exemption underneath this Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and is with out prejudice to the end result of the upcoming negotiations on the following MFF.

“Defence technologies” shall be added as a fourth strategic sector underneath the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). Support ought to be prolonged to non-bankable SMEs, together with start-ups and small mid-caps.

The laws will even permit for EU funding for dual-use transport infrastructure underneath the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), together with navy mobility corridors, the place the Commission will be capable to set situations regarding the nation of origin of the tools, items, provides or service for use.

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“With this agreement, Parliament and Council have done their job. Now it’s over to the Member States and the Commission to act – the tools are on the table, and the opportunities can be used” lead MEP Rihard Kols (ECR, Latvia) mentioned.

“This mini-omnibus is more than a legislative fix – it’s a clear signal that the EU is finally starting to treat defence investment with the seriousness the times demand. The outcome reflects much of what Parliament fought for, and it sets a precedent. We expect to build on this in the future – with bolder, more far-reaching proposals next time. Parliament has shown it is ready. We shall use that momentum” he added.

Next steps

The casual settlement will now need to be endorsed by each Parliament and Council as a way to turn into regulation. The Industry, Research and Energy committee will maintain its vote on the textual content on twentieth of November, earlier than it’s submitted to the entire House earlier than the top of the yr.

Background

The European Commission’s proposal, introduced on 22 April 2025, goals to spice up defence-related investments throughout the EU finances as a part of the ReArm Europe Plan. In response to escalating geopolitical threats, the textual content seeks to strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) with funding coming from current budgets. It follows the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030, aiming to boost the EU’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness in defence.