Twelve Countries Oppose French Push for EU Defence Preference

Twelve countries are pushing to keep the bloc’s future defence programmes open to military allies outside the EU, challenging France’s drive for strict European preference rules. A non-paper, signed by Germany, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Slovenia, pushes back against a French drive for strict European preference in the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), a key part of the next EU budget.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Openness for participation of third countries is a very important signal to our allies and partners outside the EU,” the paper said. European capitals face tough negotiations over the EU’s next long-term budget for 2028-2034, with distinct priorities on competitiveness, defence and security. Third countries are non-EU states. “We must cooperate closely to ensure our defence readiness, specifically the interoperability and standardisation of our military equipment,” the 12 countries said. “Associations can leverage the impact of EU funding by increasing funding budgets, economies of scale as well as efficiencies, resilience and innovation along supply chains,” the paper added, pointing to a need for flexibility in light of the changing security environment. The paper further argues that the EU “should retain the automatic participation of EEA countries and Ukraine in the defence industry section without an association agreement”. Other Topics of Interest EU Agrees to Release €6.6B for Ukraine From EPF, Once Blocked by Orbán Ukraine’s Defense Ministry welcomed plans by member states who wish to channel their reimbursements into further military support for Kyiv. The European Commission’s proposed €2 trillion budget would include over €409 billion for the European Competitiveness Fund – including €175 billion from the research and innovation programme Horizon. The EU executive foresees €130 billion for defence and space, though the exact split is unclear. However, the competitiveness fund is unlikely to remain intact at that level. A previous draft had already proposed cuts of around 4%, compared to the EU executive’s blueprint. France, by contrast, wants strict European preference rules in the future budget and sees them as a core objective. “As for European funds, they must be used to reduce our dependencies by investing jointly to support our innovation ecosystems and our defence and space sectors,” Benjamin Haddad, the French EU affairs minister, said earlier in the summer. “The eligibility criteria for SAFE [Security Action for Europe] and EDIP [European Defence Industry Programme] … set a good precedent for the European Competitiveness Fund”, he added. EDIP, worth €1.5 billion, and SAFE, a €150 billion instrument, mandate a minimum of two-thirds European components and protect the design authority. One diplomat critical of the French position said that “Paris is isolated”. “France simply cannot afford to stall European defence investments,” the diplomat said. “We must not lose sight of the broader geopolitical landscape. We should be strengthening our strategic defence ties with key partners like Canada or the UK, not compromising them for the sake of domestic industrial interests.” Another diplomat backed the French position. European preference is the added value of the ECF, which is about EU money, the diplomat argued. “EDIP is supposed to be the precedent. Every country has decided to increase their national defence budget to meet the NATO spending targets, they can use that money the way they want. Here it’s about EU money.” Defence industry players have also been calling for “clear European preference” rules, after a recent US non-paper urged European co-legislators to replace “European preference” with a “made with Europe” or “made in NATO” approach. Washington argued that restrictions proposed for the ECF and already included in the SAFE and EDIP instruments would weaken the transatlantic defence industrial base. The dispute comes as capitals are rushing to close a deal on the future budget by the end of the year, ahead of elections across the bloc – including the French presidential election in April, which could sweep Marine Le Pen, a far-right Eurosceptic, into the Élysée. See the original by Victoria Becker here. Euractiv is a European news website focused on EU policies. It was founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. The website's headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels, with offices in Paris and Berlin.