NBB 2025-1: REARM Europe plan, deeper into the rearmament race

This new edition of our ‘News from the Brussels’ Bubble’ focuses on the REARM Europe plan, intending to bring European militarisation to a different scale.

Read it here: NBB2025-1, 07/03/2025

summary:

EU funding for the arms industry
– Negotiations on EDIP still stalled one year after proposal publication
– EDF 2025 prioritise ground systems, incl. mass production of kamikaze drones
– “EU defense industry lobbying soars” – Politico confirms findings of our 2023 report
– “Omnibus for defence”, or how to facilitate arms dealers’ business, including exports?
– EIB coming shift in lending policy: all but lethal weapons and no more ceiling

Other aspects of EU militarisation
– REARM Europe Plan: projections up to €800 billion in next 4 years, yet not enough?!
– EU-UK security and defence partnership soon on track… And what about the nukes?

EU Peace Facility and related news
– New military aid package to Ukraine failed consensus at European special summit

more news

“Security for Whom?” CSOs call EU leaders to move the money from the military to human security

18 June 2026

Ahead of the European Council held on 18 & 19 of June, where leaders will discuss the next EU budgetary cycle, civil society organisations from across the spectrum urge EU decision-makers to reject the military budget surge and invest in human security instead Open Letter initiated by TNI, ENAAT, Stop ReArm Europe 17 June 2026 Dear Heads of States and Governments, In the run-up to the next European Council taking place this week, at which you will discuss the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034), with a view to reaching a final agreement by the end of the

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Who profits from EU subsidies for the arms industry and where they export: read our fact-sheet

8 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.

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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

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