Another move in favor of increasing Community spending was made by EUas the European Council approved today (8.10.2025) proposal aimed at encouraging investment -related investment defense In the context of the European budget, paving the way for the implementation of the Rearm Europe plan, an EU initiative to increase defense spending and enhance its military capabilities.
“With the agreed position of the Council we want to open EU basic programs to more defense -related investment and allow for a more flexible and coordinated effort to strengthen Europe’s defense and technological base. This is an indispensable step towards further strengthening EU defense readiness by 2030 », said Marie Bjerre, Minister of European Affairs of Danish.
The position of the Council seeks to facilitate faster, more flexible and coordinated investments in the European technological and industrial base of defense (EDTB) by modifying five basic European programs:
- of the digital Europe program,
- of Horizon Europe,
- of the European Defense Fund,
- of facilitating ‘connecting Europe’, and
- of Europe’s Strategic Technology Platform (STEP)
A central change is the adaptation of the eligibility rules to the Horizon Europe for double -use and defense projects to ensure more consistency with other defense industry support. Following the adoption of the position, the EU presidency is expected to launch negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of reaching a final agreement by the end of 2025.
The initiative complements the wider package of defense readiness measures presented by the European Commission in June, responding to European Council decisions in March. The aim is to provide incentives for investment in defense and enhance Europe’s operational readiness.
It is noted that The above move is not related to Safe, that is, the EU war fund, which will lend to 150 billion euros to 19 countries – members, together in Greece, to increase their equipment supplies.
Funds 2021 – 2027: Defense and Security at the focus
As part of the 2021 – 2027 multiannual fiscal framework, the EU has already committed significant resources to strengthen defense:
- 8.8 billion euros for research and development through the European Defense Fund,
- EUR 1.7 billion for military mobility projects through the “Connecting Europe” mechanism
- EUR 300 million for common defense supplies,
- EUR 500 million for the production of ammunition.
European Defense Industry Program
At the same time, negotiations on the establishment of the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP), through which the EU intends to allocate € 1.5 billion in grants by the end of 2027. The EDIP is part of the European Defense Strategy (EDIS), presented in 2024 and sets the EDIS.
On June 17, 2025, the European Commission proposed the General Plan for Defense Readibility, a package of measures to simplify the legal and administrative framework in the defense. The EU Council and the European Parliament are currently analyzing the proposal.
The beam includes a series of legislative and non -legislative proposals, covering both areas of defense and wider regulations.