On Thursday 3 October, the Court of Auditors called for a more robust design of the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and a better balance between the political objectives, the proposed budget and the timetable.
EDIP, proposed by the Commission in March, is currently being discussed by the Member States and the European Parliament. It aims to increase the Union’s defence preparedness and strengthen its armaments industry.
In its opinion, the Court of Auditors takes the unsurprising view that the proposed budget of €1.5 billion and the 2-year implementation period do not meet the ambitious objectives of strengthening the readiness of the EU defence industry and contributing to Ukraine’s defence industrial base.
According to the auditors, the Commission has not assessed the amount of EU budgetary support that would be required to implement the proposed policy instruments. They also believe that EU resources could be spread over a wide range of projects that may not have a measurable impact at EU level. “We therefore stress the importance of defining relevant performance indicators with milestones and targets to reflect the achievements that can reasonably be expected by the end of 2027”, the auditors state in their report.
To take full advantage of EU budgetary support, the Commission should consider complementing the current defence industrial strategy with a long-term funding strategy for the European defence technological and industrial base under the next EU multi-annual budget.
In addition, the auditors call for the programme’s accountability arrangements to be clarified and strengthened, particularly as regards the European Court of Auditors’ audit rights, which must be respected.
“This is important because of the complexity of the governance arrangements around defence, particularly where programmes are not managed directly by the Commission or in certain parts where implementation is entrusted to the Ukrainian authorities”, explains the Court.
It also points out that the financing of the Ukraine support instrument via windfall profits from frozen Russian assets does not provide a clear picture of its amount or duration.
To see the Court’s opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/dp3 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)