european network of
defence-related regions

News

Image for European Defence Fund: €205 million to boost the EU's strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness

European Defence Fund: €205 million to boost the EU's strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness

16 June 2020
ENDR team

The Commission announced today 16 pan-European defence industrial projects and three disruptive technology projectsthat will benefit from €205 million financing through the two precursor programmes of a fully-fledged European Defence Fund: the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) and the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP). The results announced today confirm the fit for purpose model of the European Defence Fund. The main elements to note are:
  • A highly attractive programme: in total, 441 entities applied to EDIDP calls, contributing to 40 proposals. 223 entities from 16 proposals will be supported by EDIDP;
  • Wide geographical coverage: the EDIDP projects cover participants from 24 Member States;
  • Large SMEs participation: SMEs represent 37% of the total number of entities receiving funding (83 SMEs) from EDIDP;
  • Positive effect on cooperation: the EDIDP selected proposals entail on average 14 entities from seven Member States;
  • Full coherence with other EU defence initiatives, notably the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO):nine proposals financed under EDIDP are PESCO projects;
  • Contribution to the EU's strategic autonomy: the EDIDP proposals are consistent with the key capability priorities agreed by Member States at European level through the Capability Development Plan;
  • Open to third country-controlled subsidiaries: the EDIDP results demonstrate the possibility to involve EU-based subsidiaries controlled by third countries or third country entities provided they fulfil appropriate security-based guarantees approved by Member States;
  • Support to disruptive technologies: the PADR for the first time is supporting three projects dedicated to disruptive technologies through dedicated calls, designed to prepare the future EDF, which allocates up to 8% of its budget to disruptive actions. These are important to make sure Europe remains at the forefront of technological development.
For more information on all results, click here
Image for European Defence Fund: €205 million to boost the EU's strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness