Launch of the first European defence industrial programme

MEPs approve an agreement with the Council to create the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), the first comprehensive framework to support joint European defence projects, production and joint procurement - areas where the EU has been fragmented and slow to act.

The EDIP will have a budget of €1.5 billion, of which €300 million will go directly into the Ukrainian Support Facility to modernise the Ukrainian defence industry and link it to the European one. The establishment of the programme will also allow countries to use unspent RRF funds for defence projects and a new FAST fund will be created to modernise supply chains.

A key element is the "buy European" principle - for a defence project to receive support from EDIP, no more than 35% of the value of its components must come from outside the EU and associated countries. MEPs say the measure is intended to reduce the former dependence of European armies on imports from outside the Union.

The programme will create a new legal framework for joint European defence projects in which at least four member states must participate. Ukraine will also be able to participate in these projects - a further step towards coordinating European and Ukrainian defence production.

Parliament representatives described the creation of EDIP as a major step towards strengthening European security. According to the rapporteurs, the programme should help Europe become more resilient, competitive and capable of collective defence, especially in the context of continued Russian aggression.