Ukraine will be associated to the European Defence Fund

The European Union made a historic decision to associate Ukraine to the European Defence Fund (EDF). This was announced on the official website of the Council of the EU.

This step opens a new stage of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the field of research, development and implementation of innovative defence technologies. For the first time, Ukrainian scientists, enterprises and developers will be able to fully participate in the competitions of the EDF aimed at the development of advanced solutions for the security and stability of Europe.

The association of Ukraine to the EDF will allow Ukrainian organisations to submit project proposals on equal terms with EU partners in the future, joining joint research and development in the field of defence technologies.

The decision was adopted within the framework of the previous agreement between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament regarding the package of measures ReArm Europe, aimed at stimulating defence-related investments within the current budget of the EU. Within the framework of this package, changes are foreseen to a number of EU programs, in particular the Horizon Europe Programme and the EDF itself. Thus, within the framework of the Horizon Europe, the parties agreed to expand financial support for dual-purpose and defence-related projects.

The budget of the European Defence Fund for 2021-2027 is almost 7.3 billion euros, of which 2.7 billion is directed to joint research in the field of defence, and 5.3 billion – to joint projects for the development of defence capabilities, which complement the national efforts of the member states.