European defence fund beneficiaries preliminary lessons learned and open questions

By proposing the establishment of a European Defence Fund, the European Commission has, for the first time since 1957, decided to mobilise Community resources to support the development of the capabilities necessary for guaranteeing Europe’s security and developing its strategic autonomy. This initiative, launched prior to the invasion of Ukraine, takes on a new dimension in light of the war in Europe and the decision taken by the Member States at the European Council in Versailles to develop their defence capacity. It is also clear that this strengthening of European capacity is contributing to global security within NATO. The provisions of the European Defence Fund are fully consistent with this imperative: they allow companies located in Europe but controlled by third countries to benefit from Community support subject to certain conditions. They are also consistent with the Union’s security interests. The results of the calls for proposals for the first two years of the Fund demonstrate that the participation of companies controlled by third countries is indeed possible but their participation must be carefully verified by the Commission.