Regulation 2018/1092 - European Defence Industrial Development Programme aiming at supporting the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the Union's defence industry - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 200/30

In its Communication of 30 November 2016 on a European Defence Action Plan, the Commission committed itself to complementing, leveraging and consolidating collaborative efforts by Member States in developing defence capabilities to respond to security challenges, as well as to fostering a competitive, innovative and efficient defence industry throughout the Union. It proposed, in particular, to launch a European Defence Fund (the ‘Fund’) to support investment in joint research and in the joint development of defence equipment and technologies, thereby encouraging joint procurement and joint maintenance of defence equipment and technologies. The Fund would not replace national efforts in this regard and should act as an incentive for Member States to cooperate and invest more in defence. The Fund would support cooperation during the whole cycle of defence product and technology development, thereby fostering synergies and cost effectiveness. The objective would be to deliver capabilities, ensure a competitive and innovative basis for the defence industry across the Union, including by cross-border cooperation and participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to contribute to greater European defence cooperation.

In order to foster the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the Union's defence industry, which contributes to the Union's strategic autonomy, a European Defence Industrial Development Programme (the ‘Programme’) should be established. The Programme should aim to enhance the competitiveness of the Union's defence industry, contributing to the improvement of defence capabilities, inter alia, in relation to cyber defence, by supporting cooperation between undertakings throughout the Union, including SMEs and middle capitalisation companies (mid-caps), research centres and universities, and collaboration between Member States, in the development phase of defence products and technologies, thus facilitating better exploitation of economies of scale in the defence industry and promoting the standardisation of defence systems while improving their interoperability. The development phase, which follows the research and technology phase, entails significant risks and costs that hamper the further exploitation of the results of research and adversely impact the competitiveness of the Union's defence industry. By supporting the development phase, the Programme would contribute to a better exploitation of the results of defence research and would help to cover the gap between research and production. It would also promote all forms of innovation, since the positive effects of such support can be expected to spill over into the civilian sector. The Programme complements activities carried out in accordance with Article 182 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and it does not cover the production or procurement of defence products or technologies.

In order to achieve more innovative solutions and to foster an open internal market, the Programme should provide strong support to the cross-border...