NBB #2023-07: EU Defence Industry Strategy and EIB top race

 

The latest ENAAT Newsletter is available here: ENAAT NBB 2023-07_09.10.2023

The main news are the announcement of an EU Defence Industry Strategy instead of Programme and Production Act, and how the EIB top race could pave the way to the European bank investing in weapons

Summary

EU funding for the arms industry
– A European Defence Industry Strategy (EDIS) instead of Programme or Production Act
– EDIRPA formally adopted with overwhelming majority
– Defence Fund to focus on conventional warfare in Europe and less projects?
– 2024 and MFF revision: the budgetary war is on
– EP draft report on CSDP calls for more funding
– ‘Replenishing EU defence stockpiles’: SEDE hearing and study
– EIB top race an “opportunity” to start funding weaponry?
– UK to take part in Horizon & Copernicus projects, a first step to defence research?

other aspects of European militarisation
– European Political Community and informal EU heads of state meetings
– Military spending as “relevant factor” for deficit beyond EU limits?
– Mixed pattern of citizens’ opinion on arms deliveries to Ukraine

EU Peace Facility & related news
– Peace Facility: EU auditors opinion, Armenia
– Ukraine: from support to “opportunities”
– EU mission to Gulf of Guinea expanded to Togo and Ivory Coast

more news

OSDE 2026

2 June 2026

Major Beneficiaries of EDF and ASAP.     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. This is exacerbated by the fact that many of these companies own (parts) of other beneficiaries, in the form of takeovers, joint ventures, subsidiaries or major shareholder ownership. With this in mind, almost a quarter of the funding ends up

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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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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

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