Commission proposes simplification to speed up defence investments in the EU
European Commission
Press release
Jun 17, 2025
Brussels
Today, the European Commission proposes measures to speed up defence investments and production to make the EU more responsive to today's security challenges, as outlined in the Commission's White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030.
The measures, laid down in a Defence Readiness Omnibus, aim to help Member States and industry scale up defence capabilities and infrastructure to reach the levels of readiness required to prepare for and thereby deter a high intensity conflict. The measures reduce red tape, facilitate investments in defence capabilities and provide greater predictability to industry. They also make it easier to access EU funding. For this purpose, the Omnibus will:
- Introduce a fast-track permitting regime for defence projects: across the EU, the permitting process can take several years. The proposal reduces this timeframe to 60 days. It also proposes to establish Single Points of Contact in Member States for the defence industry.
- Reduce administrative burden in the European Defence Fund (EDF) for applicants and participants.It will also facilitate increased participation of Ukrainian entities in the European Defence Fund.
- Ease procurement by encouraging joint purchases and increase contract thresholds, thereby speeding up cross-border transfers of defence products.
- Clarify the application of existing EU-wide rules such as competition or environmental legislation.
- Ensure that chemicals regulations accommodate defence needs.
- Improve access to finance by streamlining InvestEU eligibility criteria, providing guidance on sustainable investments in defence and clarifying the notion of prohibited weapons under the Sustainable Finance Framework.
Together, these changes aim to improve Europe's ability to act quickly, coordinate more effectively, and ensure its defence industry can deliver at speed and scale.
Next Steps
The legislative proposals are subject to negotiations in the European Parliament and in the Council, under the ordinary legislative procedure.
Background
The initiative builds on the vision set out in the White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030, which identified regulatory simplification and harmonisation as essential levers for boosting Europe's defence preparedness.
The proposal complements the targeted amendments presented in April 2025 to existing EU funding programmes to support faster, more flexible and coordinated investments in Europe's defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB).
The proposal also incorporates feedback from a public consultation launched on 25 March 2025, which gathered input from Member States, defence industrial players, SMEs, and other stakeholders across the EU. It also includes input from President Von der Leyen's Strategic Dialogue with the European Defence Industry on 12 May and Implementation Dialogue with stakeholders chaired by Commissioner Kubilius on 19 May 2025.
The initiative also responds to the European Council's call on 6 March 2025 for the Commission to prioritise a defence-specific simplification omnibus, acknowledging the need to support Europe's defence industry in meeting rapidly evolving security challenges.
Quote(s)
With the Defence Readiness Omnibus, we are sending a clear political signal: Europe is serious about defence and creating credible preparedness. We are cutting through bureaucracy to help Member States and industry act faster, invest smarter, and strengthen our collective deterrence. This is about turning EU ambition into real capability.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
Our Single Market is a powerful tool to accelerate European defence industrial production to deter potential threats to the EU countries and our citizens. Today's simplification package for defence proposes to unleash Europe's overwhelming economic heft, by breaking down internal barriers, cutting red tape and clarifying the rules, so that a truly European defence industrial and technological capacity can be ramped up quickly, efficiently and effectively.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification
We live in dangerous times. Putin will not wait for us to have our paperwork in order. We propose to drastically cut red tape for defence industry, slashing permit deadlines from many years to just two months, and more measures so industry can swiftly ramp up production to achieve European defence readiness by 2030. The goal: to deter aggression, prevent war and preserve peace.*
Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
