Defence

What the EU does

NATO military exercises - Airborne Warning and Control System, 2023-2024

These last few years have been a sharp reminder about how fragile peace is. They have also been a wakeup call for Europe to give itself the means to protect itself and deter potential adversaries. That is why the European Commission is prioritising building a true European defence union, where we spend more, spend better, and spend together.

The EU’s main defence policy objectives are to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of the European defence industry by

helping Member States rebuild, replenish, and transform national armed forces by building upon the existing defence industrial programmes
helping pool resources and counter common threats through flagship European defence projects
developing a single market for defence products and services

69%

of Europeans agree that the EU needs to reinforce its capacity to produce military equipment

2 million

rounds of EU annual shell production capacity by the end 2025

€8 billion

total EU investment in defence research and development (2021-2027)

Areas of action

Key achievements

With the European Defence Fund and key new legislation, we are mobilising Europe's defence industry to manufacture more of our security at home.
We presented the European defence industrial strategy (EDIS) and the European defence industry programme (EDIP), ensuring that when it comes to defence, we invest more, better, together, and European.
In 2024, €300 million in funding have been allocated to five joint defence-procurement (EDIRPA) projects by Member States, the first time the EU uses its budget to finance common defence buying.
We have reinforced our partnership with NATO. Through a new Joint Declaration, we are boosting our common work on hybrid threats, cyber, terrorism, and the security implications of climate change. Moreover, the EU and NATO set up a Task Force on resilience of critical infrastructure to strengthen cooperation with a focus on four key sectors: energy, transport, digital infrastructure and space.

In focus

Over €1 billion to drive next-generation defence technologies and innovation

The European Commission has adopted the fifth annual work programme under the European Defence Fund, allocating €1.065 billion to collaborative defence research and development projects. This significant investment aims to strengthen Europe's defence capabilities, promote technological innovation, and enhance industrial competitiveness across the EU.