How can the European Commission help Europe’s defence industry? By making the most out of what it is already doing

Abstract

ABSTRACT The European Commission's proposal for the €13 bn European Defence Fund (EDF) to incentivise collaborative defence research and capability development projects with EU funding was an ambitious statement of policy intent to drive forward European defence cooperation. However, the summer 2020 EU budget negotiations left it with only about 60% of that amount over the 2021-2027 period. This debate contribution argues that despite this curtailment in resource and ambition, the European Commission can still maximise the EDF's impact to benefit European defence industry by ensuring that the various defence industrial policy activities it is already leading are achieving their full potential, incentivising EU governments to acquire and use the capabilities developed through the Fund, and maintaining coherence amongst existing research projects, capability development projects, and joint capability requirements.