European Defence Fund
Budget
Description Go to funding source website
Latest info from July 21st 2020
A financial contribution of EUR 7 014 million for the European Defence Fund (EDF) aimed at fostering competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the European defence technological and industrial base supporting collaborative actions and cross-border cooperation throughout the Union, at each stage of the industrial cycle of defence products and technologies.
The programme design will ensure participation of defence industries of all sizes, including SMEs and mid-caps, across the Union, thus strengthening and improving defence supply and value chains. It shall contribute to the European Union's strategic autonomy and the ability to work with strategic partners and support projects consistent with defence capability priorities commonly agreed by the Member States, including within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and particularly in the context of the Capability Development Plan. 116.
A financial contribution of EUR 1 500 million will be made to the Connecting Europe Facility to adapt the TEN-T networks to military mobility needs
European Defence Fund
The European defence fund (EDF) will provide a key contribution to Europe’s strategic autonomy, protecting and defending its citizens.
It is managed by DG-DEFIS (Defence Industry and Space)
The 2017 European defence fund (EDF) will provide a key contribution to Europe’s strategic autonomy, protecting and defending its citizens. It will promote defence cooperation among companies and between EU countries to foster innovation and develop state-of-the-art defence technology and products. This, in turn, will lead to cost-savings for EU countries. The fund will coordinate, supplement and amplify national investments in defence.
The European defence fund supports the cross-border cooperation between EU countries and between enterprises, research centres, national administrations, international organisations and universities. This applies to the research phase and in the development phase of defence products and technologies. It has 2 strands. Under the research strand, the EU budget will provide funding for collaborative defence research projects. Under the capability strand, the EU will create incentives for companies and EU countries to collaborate on the joint development of defence products and technologies through co-financing from the EU budget. The European Commission will also offer practical support and advice on
- cost-saving financial arrangements
- providing terms and framework agreements
- ownership structures for joint acquisition of defence capabilities by EU countries
The European defence fund in the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework
As a first step, the European defence fund supports collaborative defence research and development through 2 pilot programmes with limited duration and budget.
The preparatory action on defence research (PADR)
The preparatory action on defence research provides grants for collaborative defence research with a budget of €90 million for 2017-2019. The first PADR grant agreement was signed in December 2017. By the beginning of 2019, 8 grant agreements were signed and projects have started.
- Calls for proposals
- Project descriptions
- PADR: Commission decision on financing and unit costs 2017
- PADR: Work programme on financing and unit costs
The European defence industrial development programme (EDIDP)
2020
The Commission has published the 2020 EDIDP calls for proposals. The deadline for submission is 1 December. Information concerning the organisation of an info day will follow.
- Calls for proposals
- Factsheet outlining the 12 categories
2019
The European defence industrial development programme offers co-financing for collaborative defence development projects with a budget of €500 million for 2019-2020.
- 2019 work programme
- Calls for proposals
- Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 on competitiveness and innovation in defence
- Proposal for regulation establishing the European defence industrial development programme aiming at supporting the competitiveness and innovative capacity of the EU of 7 June 2017
- COM(2017) 294 – Proposal
- SWD(2017) 228 – Ex-ante evaluation accompanying the proposal
The European defence fund under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework
In June 2018, the Commission proposed to allocate €13 billion to the fund for 2021-2027. It’s aimed at supporting competitive collaborative defence projects throughout the entire cycle of research and development. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament should adopt the proposal by early 2019.
- European defence fund - press release of 13 June 2018
- European defence fund - factsheet of 13 June 2018
- European defence fund - proposal for a regulation and annexes COM(2018) 476
- European defence fund - staff working document - impact assessment SWD(2018) 345
The financial toolbox
The EDF financial toolbox aims to address financing challenges for collaborative development and procurement. It does so by providing a set of voluntary reference acquisition models and identifying ways in which financial instruments can support the EDTIB. The first deliverables of the expert group on the financial toolbox are the basis for further policy considerations as part of relevant processes. These include PESCO and creating future financial products under the investEU programme.
- Deliverable 1: Mapping key policy processes for multi-state defence capability acquisition
- Deliverable 2: Financing models for defence capabilities
- Deliverable 3: Financial instruments for autonomous European defence
