Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission has pledged over €1 billion to allocate to defense research and development projects under the European Defence Fund (EDF).
The European Commission stated the defense program this year will concentrate on technologies backing ground combat and force protection abilities, including for use by the Ukrainian forces. The Work Programme will assign about €100 million each in vital fields such as ground combat, space, air, and naval combat, as well as energy strength and environmental change.
According to the statement,
Today, the Commission has adopted the fifth annual Work Programme under the European Defence Fund (EDF), allocating over €1 billion to defense collaborative research and development projects.
The program also plans to deliver grants and services to “non-traditional actors” in the domain, including small businesses and startups, “to help them overcome defense market entry barriers, bring ideas to the market, and make a difference to EU security and defense.”
What is the significance of the European Defense Fund?
With a budget of about €7.3 billion for the period 2021–27, the European Defence Fund is the EU Commission’s mechanism for funding collaborative defense R&D. Without covering Member States’ efforts, it fosters collaboration between businesses of all sizes and research players throughout the EU and Norway (as an associated country).
The EDF also funds competitive and collaborative defense schemes across the whole cycle of research and development, concentrating on projects resulting in state-of-the-art and interoperable defense technologies and tools. It also encourages invention and incentivizes the cross-border inclusiveness of SMEs.
With the assumption of the 2025 Work Programme, the EU Commission has pledged €5.4 billion since the entry into effect of the EDF Regulation in May 2021, evolving into one of the leading investors in defense R&D. It also includes several steps to further fund small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps under the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS).
