On Monday 22 September, Krastio Preslavsky, Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, pointed out that the European Defence Fund (EDF), which will be launched in 2019, had reached cruising speed at the halfway stage.
At a hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Mr Preslavsky explained that €5.4 billion had been committed since the start of the programme.
“The EU has become one of the top three defence investors in Europe. In its third year alone, the EDF has funded more than 50% of collaborative research and development projects in Europe”, he explained.
162 projects received funding, involving almost 1,400 legal entities. While the minimum threshold for support is three entities from three Member States or Norway, the average consortium is nineteen entities from eight Member States, said Mr Preslavsky.
The programme has made it possible to “create a collaboration that didn’t exist before and that would never have existed if the EDF hadn’t been there”, he added, pointing out that the collaboration continues beyond R&D.
According to the Commission representative, more than 50 prototypes are being developed in all military fields. He called for ensuring that projects continue to be financed when they reach maturity.
To see the Commission’s interim report: https://aeur.eu/f/ik7 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)