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

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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