The European Union reached a political agreement this Wednesday to simplify public procurement in security and defense and to support and accelerate investments in the European arms industry. The revision of common rules aims to reduce the bureaucratic burden and shorten deadlines in tendering procedures, granting of permits, and cross-border cooperation.
"For a strategically autonomous Europe, defense capability and competitiveness go hand in hand," highlighted in a statement the Cypriot Deputy Minister of European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of June.
The pact sealed between the negotiators of the Council (Member States) and the European Parliament must still be formally confirmed by both the Twenty-Seven and the plenary of the European Parliament before it enters into force.
"It is an important achievement for both strengthening the Union's defense capability and competitiveness. For a strategically autonomous Europe, defense capability and competitiveness go hand in hand," Raouna argued.
Reform of the regulatory framework and the European Defence Fund
The so-called "fifth omnibus"—the name given to the regulatory review packages promoted by Brussels to alleviate the regulation weighing on companies in strategic sectors such as defense or digitalization—will allow, for example, the simplification of the management and execution of the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the clarification of how EU environmental and chemical legislation applies to military preparation activities.
In this way, administrative requirements for applications to the EDF are reduced, while support for SMEs is increased and the implementation of the fund is made "more predictable," according to a note from the Council. At the same time, the option for European public bodies, such as the European Defence Agency, to act as purchasing centers is maintained.
The agreement also preserves the right of Member States co-financing projects to access the results of actions funded by the EDF and ensures the protection of intellectual property rights of industrial companies participating in such actions.
In addition, co-legislators have introduced additional incentives to increase the presence of SMEs in EDF projects, particularly through a higher bonus on the financing rate for initiatives involving small and medium-sized enterprises.
Health, environment, and accelerated permits
The reform also sets the objective of guaranteeing "a high level of protection for human health and the environment," thus supporting the changes proposed by the European Commission on environmental and chemical regulations regarding exemptions for the use of certain substances for defense preparedness purposes.
In terms of permits, the revision establishes a "harmonized framework" to expedite the granting of authorizations for defense preparedness projects, with a maximum period of 120 working days and the presumption of tacit approval if the competent authority does not adopt a negative decision before the end of that period.
However, the reform keeps open the possibility of exceptions to this automatic approval, given that national legislation may provide for safeguards when there is a serious risk to human health or national security.
Public procurement and intra-Community cooperation
The new package also reduces administrative delays in public security and defense procurement, simplifies the transfer of defense-related products within the internal market, and strengthens cooperation between Member States, offering governments and industry a "clearer" path to reinforce European defense capabilities by 2030.
Another relevant modification is the increase in the thresholds of the defense public procurement directive, in order to alleviate the administrative burden and allow authorities to focus on larger-scale military projects. The reform also introduces the possibility of carrying out specific joint procurements, a 'de minimis' rule for contractual changes, and greater flexibility in the use of framework agreements.