Een sterke Europese defensie-industrie
Opinion factsheet
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Opinion number:
CDR-2104-2024
Status:
Goedgekeurd
Objective
Highlight the need to protect and adapt regional support for regions at risk of attack on the EU borders. Defence industry and infrastructures need to be present, and specific support is necessary to adapt the economy.
Explain the role of regions and cities in supporting regional defense related clusters which have a key role to play to strengthen EU defence supply chains.
Ensure defence related regions are part of the EU dialogue on defence industry financing.
Explain the role of regions and cities in supporting regional defense related clusters which have a key role to play to strengthen EU defence supply chains.
Ensure defence related regions are part of the EU dialogue on defence industry financing.
Impact
The European Commission welcomed the CoR Opinion and stated that the CoR can play a significant role by reaching out and communicating with SMEs and players, including those that are not part of the defence ecosystem yet but have potential to contribute to the EDTIB. In addition, the close ties between the CoR and regional industries can improve the dissemination of European funding opportunities to SMEs and other stakeholders.
The European Commission also clarified that given the growing importance of dual-technologies, it will ensure that the European Innovation Council and the planned TechEU Scale-up Fund will invest in dual-use technologies. In addition, the Commission will present, in 2025, a European Armament Technological Roadmap, leveraging investment into dual use advanced technological capabilities at EU, national and private level and focusing in an initial phase on AI and quantum.
The European Commission also clarified that any transfer from Cohesion Policy is purely voluntary and it does not affect the obligation for these funds to comply with the objectives of both its source programme and EDIP.
The European Commission also clarified that given the growing importance of dual-technologies, it will ensure that the European Innovation Council and the planned TechEU Scale-up Fund will invest in dual-use technologies. In addition, the Commission will present, in 2025, a European Armament Technological Roadmap, leveraging investment into dual use advanced technological capabilities at EU, national and private level and focusing in an initial phase on AI and quantum.
The European Commission also clarified that any transfer from Cohesion Policy is purely voluntary and it does not affect the obligation for these funds to comply with the objectives of both its source programme and EDIP.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR)
believes that future defence industry support programmes should include specific measures aimed at revitalising clusters in regions specialising in the defence industry, dual technologies or related industries such as semiconductors and electronics manufacturing, while also strengthening critical supply chains for defence materials to ensure resilience and sustainability in the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base;
calls for any transfer of cohesion policy funds to finance EDIP projects to focus on projects that cannot be financed under the shared management of cohesion policy and that support regions’ territorial, economic and social cohesion, particularly existing regional defence or dual-use clusters or clusters relating to items needed to maintain military capabilities, and regions that are more exposed to the risk of conventional or non-conventional military threats;
supports the new mandate of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to contribute to strengthening the European defence industry, and stresses the need for further work to identify areas where the EIB could finance defence-related activities, as well as the appropriate mechanisms for implementing such funding; considers it essential for the EIB to make appropriate programmes and funding instruments available as soon as possible to directly finance defence start-ups and defence innovation;
believes that a well-prepared and resilient defence industry requires investment commensurate with the challenge at hand. The next multiannual financial framework (MFF) should reflect this ambition in a credible way by providing an additional, dedicated budget to finance the proposed new measures. Financing from budgetary allocations which are intended for other policies is not acceptable, while fragmentation of the different instruments should be avoided.