Who gets most of EU funding for military research and development?

4 countries get 53.5% of the grants allocated so far: France, Italy, Spain and Germany, which are also the main EU arms exporters.  Thales gets 15 grants, and 7 companies of the top 10 were members of the Group of Personalities that advised the European Commission to create this funding, in 2016.

Considering the poor implementation of the EU Common position on arms exports, there is a serious risk that weapon systems developed with EU public money will feed the global arms race and end in areas under conflict or tension.

For more details about which countries and companies profit the most of EU subsidies, which technologies are being developed and the risks they entail, and the lack of proper ethical checks and parliamentary overview, go to our publication in EN and FR:

Who profits from EU funding for military R&D?
À qui profitent les subsides européens pour la R&D militaire?

more news

OSDE 2026

2 June 2026

Who profits from EU subsidies for the arms industry? Find out below which countries and companies benefit the most from the EU Defence Fund (EDF) and the Ammunition fund (ASAP), and where they export. More information and detailed data are available in the public platform Open Security Data Europe Companies European Defence Fund (EDF) After the first three years of the EDF, about a thousand different entities (companies, research institutes, universities, government agencies and a few CSOs) have received funding. It is clear that a large portion of the money goes to a small set of large arms companies.

Read more >

09/06 at 6pm: “Breaking the consensus on EU funding for rearmamament” online conference

21 May 2026

ENAAT, GDAMS & StopReArmEurope invite you to an Interactive Online Conference***A militarised garden: Breaking the consensus on EU funding for rearmament * June 9 2026 at 18:00 CEST The session will begin from a practical observation: Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who challenge the current policy direction -particularly the rapid growth in certain spending priorities- represent a small minority, which limits their influence. Against this backdrop, the discussion will move beyond simple opposition and instead focus on more constructive and strategic exchange, structures around two main pillars:1) Understanding the MEPs’ perspective:Why do many MEPs feel that there

Read more >

Civil society calls on policymakers to prevent the weakening of arms exports control

8 May 2026

Today, +25 civil society organisations urge decision makers to prevent arms export control systems from being weakened under the pretext of ‘simplification’ and ‘efficiency’. The negotiations on the EU omnibus package relating to defence are well advanced and about to conclude, including on the proposals modifying the Transfer directive regulating intra-EU arms exports. Weapons and military technology cannot be sold like toys or cans of beans, and EU governments are the ones responsible for ensuring compliance with European and international law, in particular the EU Common position on arms exports, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Convention on

Read more >