Companies have until November to apply to take part in projects ranging from unmanned aircraft to secure space communications

The European Defence Fund was set up to support research and development, but it could be rolled into the proposed defence industrial programme, Timo Pesonen, director general for Defence Industry and Space, told MEPs

A €1.5B fund will help to scale up research projects and build supply chains, while a new legal structure will enable member states to facilitate cooperation across the whole life cycle of defence capabilities

The Commission president set out her vision for a new EU military-industrial-academic complex in a speech to MEPs on Wednesday

Stepping up investment in defence was on the agenda as EIB president Nadia Calviño met European finance ministers

Heads of state approved the changes in Brussels today, after Germany rejected a Commission proposal to put an additional €100B into the EU’s multiannual budget. The deal frees up a €50B aid package for Ukraine

The fund is intended to stimulate investment in SMEs that are working to develop novel defence technologies

The EU money will incentivise joint purchases of military equipment by member states and help SMEs get to market. But the fund runs out in mid-2025 and plans for a longer term strategy are held up

Following the Russian invasion, the latest grants awarded by the European Defence Fund back technologies to improve the security of Europe. That is in contrast to earlier awards when the emphasis was on expeditionary capabilities

Romanian MEPs on the research and industry committee say the European Defence Fund should allocate grants more evenly across member states