The new European Defence Fund (EDF) is now a reality

The new European Defence Fund (EDF) is now a reality

2021 is the first year of the European Defence Fund’s (EDF) implementation, with a budget of €7,953 million for the period 2021-2027.

The EDF is the instrument defined by the European Commission to support defence cooperation in Europe and encourage collaboration in the research and development of defence products and technologies. Thanks to this fund, research projects will be co-financed to increase each Member State’s military investments.

The ultimate goal is to boost the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the European defence technological and industrial base, with a special focus on SMEs. This will contribute to the EU’s greater strategic autonomy and freedom of action.

Structure of the European Defence Fund

The instrument is built on two pillars:

Pillar I: Collaborative defence research

With a budget of €2,651 million, covering research actions to develop new technologies and products to strengthen and improve military capabilities, including disruptive technologies for defence purposes. The actions included in this first group can receive 100% funding from the European Commission.

Pillar II: Collaborative capability development projects

€5,302 million to optimise EU defence spending: this budget line generates greater economies of scale, reduces duplication within the EU and facilitates standardisation and interoperability between Member States’ military capabilities. These actions are co-financed by the Commission.

The programme is directly managed by the European Commission, although the European Defence Agency participates as an observer. The European External Action Service will be responsible for assisting the committee.

Encouraging the creation of collaborative projects

With the European Defence Fund, the Commission aims to encourage cooperation between different types of organisations involved in the development of state-of-the-art defence technology and equipment.  The EDF is expected to boost the activity of the entire defence sector, including small and medium-sized enterprises, which will receive 30 % of the funds to develop innovation projects that encourage cross-border participation. 

First EDF calls for proposals

On Kaila, discover the 37 calls for proposals that have just been launched.