EU member states have agreed a negotiating position on a proposal to open more EU programmes to defence-related investments as part of the Commission’s “ReArm Europe” agenda.
The decision, taken by ambassadors on 8 October, aims to channel EU budget instruments towards strengthening Europe’s defence industrial and technological base (EDTIB) and improving readiness by 2030.
Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s Minister for European Affairs, said the Council’s stance is intended to “open key EU programmes to more defence-related investments” and enable a “more agile and coordinated effort to strengthen Europe’s Defence Industrial and Technological Base”, describing it as a necessary step towards boosting EU defence readiness towards 2030. Her remarks set the tone for the next phase of talks with the European Parliament, which the presidency wants concluded before the end of the year.
The Council’s position envisages targeted amendments to five existing EU instruments: the Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, the European Defence Fund (EDF), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). In practical terms, this would allow a wider set of defence-relevant and dual-use projects to receive EU support, while aligning procedures across programmes to speed up planning, contracting and deployment. The stated objective is faster, more flexible and coordinated investment into Europe’s defence ecosystem.
While broadly maintaining the European Commission’s original approach, member states introduced a notable change to Horizon Europe. Eligibility rules for activities with dual-use and defence applications would be adapted to ensure consistency with other EU defence-industry instruments. This addresses longstanding concerns from industry and some governments about uneven treatment of dual-use research and the administrative hurdles faced by consortia operating across programmes.
The initiative sits alongside, and is designed to complement, the Commission’s “defence readiness omnibus” package presented in June. That package proposes streamlining procurement and regulatory frameworks to accelerate the delivery of capabilities and facilitate common purchases, and is framed by the Commission as part of a wider push to mobilise very large-scale defence investment in the current decade. Together, the two proposals respond to the European Council’s call in March for measures that incentivise defence-related investment and raise Europe’s industrial readiness.
The “ReArm Europe” concept, set out by the Commission earlier this year, is intended to increase Europe’s defence spending, crowd-in private capital and reinforce critical supply chains. External analyses have highlighted headline figures associated with the wider policy drive, including efforts to remove regulatory bottlenecks and enable large volumes of public and private investment across the 2025–2029 period. Although the precise scale will ultimately depend on legislation agreed by the Parliament and Council, the policy direction is towards mobilising substantial resources and making EU financial instruments more defence-capable.
If endorsed by the Parliament in trilogues, the agreed amendments would, in effect, widen the aperture of established programmes rather than create wholly new funds. For the Digital Europe Programme, this could mean support for cyber-security tools and data infrastructure with defence applications. Under the CEF, it could include projects that upgrade transport and energy networks for military mobility and resilience. STEP, set up to bolster strategic technologies, would be positioned to back defence-relevant industrial projects alongside other critical sectors. EDF would remain the dedicated instrument for collaborative defence research and development, but with clearer linkages to innovation streams under Horizon Europe. The Commission and Council both argue that such cross-programme coherence is essential if the EDTIB is to scale rapidly.
Next steps are procedural but significant. With the Council mandate now in place, the presidency will open negotiations with the Parliament with the stated aim of reaching a first-reading agreement before year-end. In parallel, work continues on the defence readiness omnibus, which is undergoing examination in the Council and the Parliament. The two files are intended to be mutually reinforcing: one adjusts the scope and eligibility of EU budget programmes; the other simplifies rules and procurement pathways to accelerate delivery. The timeline reflects pressure from member states to translate political commitments on defence into operational programmes during the current budget cycle.
Today’s Council position does not predetermine final programme envelopes or detailed award criteria, which will depend on the outcome of trilogues and subsequent implementation acts. However, it offers clarity on the direction of travel: a more permissive framework for dual-use and defence-related activity within mainstream EU instruments, with the aim of improving Europe’s readiness and industrial resilience by 2030. For industry, universities and research organisations, the signal is that projects with clear defence relevance—and especially those capable of rapid deployment—are increasingly within scope of EU support, provided they meet security, eligibility and participation conditions under the respective programmes.
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