The European Defence Market provides opportunities for innovative and commercial activities. The European Defence Agency (EDA), created in 2004, is an intergovernmental agency that supports its member states in the development of joint defence capabilities. In 2021, the European Commission has launched the European Defence Fund to finance defence research and innovation activities in the European Union.
The European Defence Fund (EDF) is the European Commission’s funding programme for defence research and development, aimed at fostering a European innovative and competitive defence industrial base. The €8 billion programme, which will be available from 2021-2027, is open to companies of all size and research performing organisations from the 27 member states and from Norway. Taking into consideration both the EU defence capability priorities and the technological gaps identified by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the member states, the EDF is based on thematic calls released in an annual Work Programme.
