We have updated our fact-sheet about which countries and companies get most of the EU funding for military R&D with recent information published by the European Defence Agency, providing the detailed breakdown per beneficiaries for 3 more projects. No similar information is available for the EDIDP projects so far.
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 English and French:
Who profits from EU funding for military R&D?
À qui profitent les subsides européens pour la R&D militaire?
In a nutshell, 4 countries get 56.6% of the grants allocated so far: France, Italy, Spain and Germany, which are also the main EU arms exporters. Thales gets 17 grants, and 7 companies of the top 12 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.