MEPs back EU funding changes for defence investments

The Industry, Research and Energy committee adopted legislation to amend major EU funding programmes to channel EU funding towards defence and security as part of the ReArm Europe Plan.

• Main action: The committee amended STEP, Horizon Europe, the European Defence Fund (EDF), the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to enable defence and security spending, including adding “Defence and security technologies” as a fourth strategic sector under STEP, broadening defence definitions to cover societal resilience (critical infrastructure protection, disaster response, election integrity), endorsing dual-use civil-military projects, and permitting up to 100% EU co-financing for eligible SME/small mid-cap projects under the EDF; the draft was adopted 63 votes to 5 (4 abstentions) and MEPs voted to open negotiations with the Council 64 votes to 5 (3 abstentions).
• Background and details: The changes follow the European Commission proposal of 22 April 2025 under the ReArm Europe Plan to strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) with funding from existing budgets; measures include extending CEF eligibility to dual-use transport and fuel infrastructure (military mobility corridors, fuel supply chains, logistics hubs), encouraging DEP support for AI factories/gigafactories for defence-related AI, and exploring pathways to integrate Ukraine’s defence industry with EU programmes; this builds on the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030.