Regions call for EU action to unlock the full potential of SMEs in defence

The Working Group on Defence of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) met on 16 June 2026 in Cartagena, Region of Murcia, calling for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to play a far greater role in the European defence industry. Members emphasised simpler procedures, better access to finance and public procurement, and the full integration of the SME perspective into EU defence policies and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, geopolitical instability and supply-chain vulnerabilities have made strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base an urgent priority. Against this backdrop, the Working Group's first external meeting, hosted by the Region of Murcia, in the naval city of Cartagena, put the spotlight on smaller companies. More agile than larger actors, SMEs deliver cutting-edge technologies that underpin the EU's strategic autonomy and are better placed to explore disruptive and dual-use innovation. Embedded in regional economies, clusters, research centres and supply chains, they are central to the territorial dimension of defence policy.

Despite their key importance, defence-related SMEs face persistent structural barriers. The European defence market remains highly fragmented, and divergent national rules make it harder for smaller firms to operate across borders and scale up. Working Group members identified three main challenges: complex access to EU research and innovation programmes; limited access to finance, particularly acute at regional level; and difficulty attracting specialised talent.

Regions and EU institutions back a stronger role for SMEs

Echoing these points as he opened the meeting, Fernando López Miras (ES/EPP), President of the Region of Murcia and Chair of the Working Group on Defence, described the contribution of SMEs to European security as undeniable and pressed for strong regional ecosystems to ease their access to the defence market, adding that the regions must also be involved in shaping the EU's defence policies. In short, for the EU to be ready to meet the challenges facing the defence industry, its regions and their SMEs must be ready too.

Working Group members Olgierd Geblewicz (PL/EPP), Christophe Rouillon (FR/PES), Karīna Miķelsone (LV/Renew), and Kai-Ari Lundell (FI/ECR) focused their contributions on the need to step up cooperation between SMEs and large companies in the defence industry, to develop more interregional projects and to foster a greater number of SME networks and stronger EU value-chains. Mantas Varaška (LT/EA) also referred to the draft opinion by Tadeusz Truskolaski (PL/EA) on the EU defence industry, which seeks to support the development of an effective EU framework by better linking national defence industry models with the participation of local SMEs and NGOs.

Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, Member of the European Parliament and the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE), set out the four key priorities on which SEDE is focusing, which likewise seek to remove the obstacles affecting SMEs: administrative simplification, the pursuit of specialisation, the integration of SMEs into major projects, and public-private collaboration. Arnoldas Abramavičius (LT/EPP) called for strengthening the cooperation between the CoR and SEDE through joint initiatives. 

Pablo Fernández Cras from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) stressed in his remarks that the Commission is well aware of the difficulties that defence-industry SMEs face in accessing finance, and noted that the forthcoming MFF 2028–2034 is designed precisely to address this problem. 

Lessons from industry

Among the speakers from invited companies, Teemu Seppälä, Technology and Innovation Director at the Defence Innovation Network Finland (DEFINE), presented this ecosystem, which features a powerful innovation hub and an accelerator that has registered 48 start-ups, 21 of which have attracted venture-capital investment worth more than €200 million, and that has created over 100 jobs.

Miguel García from Navantia, a leading global company in shipbuilding and vessels, underlined that large industrial players must reach out to SMEs to help them comply with the rules in force and build the capacity to meet them. It is for this reason, he explained, that Navantia plays an integrating, capability-building and enabling role. He also highlighted the difficulties SMEs face in accessing capital, calling for greater efforts to secure pre-financing for their projects.

The Region of Murcia shows the way in dual-use technologies

A notable example of dual-use technology development – strengthening both defence capabilities and economic resilience – is CAETRA, the Region of Murcia's ERDF-backed programme supporting companies and start-ups in defence, security and reconstruction through R&D grants, market-access services and advice on EU funding, thereby driving innovation, job creation and industrial competitiveness.

Noelia Ortega, Director of the Marine Technology Centre (CTN), representing the CAETRA programme of the Region of Murcia, explained that the key to this platform's success lies in having a shared vision, sound coordination and clear values of trust, perseverance and resilience. Another three CAETRA companies pitched their solutions to members: CISO (underwater systems, satellite data, drones and artificial intelligence), THALANOR Dynamics (drone and counter-UAS technologies developed from battlefield feedback) and HERJIMAR (underwater technologies and dual-use metalworking products for the defence and naval sectors).

The meeting concluded with a visit to the Navantia shipyard in Cartagena, confirming the region's role as a hub of Europe's naval and defence industry.

Quote

Fernando López Miras (ES/EPP), President of the Region of Murcia and Chair of the Working Group on Defence: "The role of small and medium-sized enterprises in strengthening European security and defence is undeniable. Their contribution is essential to the development of advanced technological solutions, the reinforcement of industrial capacities, and to promote strategic infrastructure. It is our responsibility to promote strong regional ecosystems that drive innovation, facilitate access to the defence market, and foster transnational collaboration, thus contributing decisively to a stronger, more autonomous, and better-prepared Europe."

Background

• The Working Group on Defence was established on 1 April 2025 by the Bureau of the European Committee of the Regions to reflect upon and promote the contribution of local and regional entities to the evolution of the European Union’s security and defence architecture.

• The Working Group will hold its next meeting this autumn, in Brussels.
  

Contact

Víctor Moreno Morales de Setién
Tel: +32 475 999 662
victor.morenomoralesdesetien@cor.europa.eu