News and activities

  Since the inauguration of the new European Commission in 2024, including for the first time a European Commissioner for Defence Industry and Space, defence developments at the European level have gained significant momentum and speed. A vast array of new regulations and funding instruments are being developed, published, and adopted. T o name a few: the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS), the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) (€1.5bn), the European Readiness 2030 white paper, the SAFE instrument (€150bn), the waiver on the EMU Stability and Growth Pact (€650bn), and the legal Omnibus , which includes plans for simplified procurement rules. While these policies and instruments are being implemented, the European Commission continues developing far reaching plans such as European Common Defence , a European Defence Union , a European Single Market for Defence , a European DARPA and potentially the application of large-scale funding through Eurobonds and/...

  Mark your calendar for 1-3 July 2026 in Funchal, Madeira On these dates, the Portugese university of Minho, Fibrenamics and Sciencentris organises the 5th edition of their conference on advanced materials for Defence. The conference takes place in Funchal, Madeira and  focuses on the latest scientific and technical novelties in advanced materials for air, sea, land and space applications. The AuxDefense conference will bring together various universities, researchers, technological centers, companies, and all of the entities interested in innovative solutions for this very high-demanding field.  The conference also aims to be a place that promotes the exchange of ideas, the presentation of the latest developments and trends, the proposal of new solutions, and ultimately promote international collaborations. Follow this link for all available details on the conference website Use registration fee discounts available for EDTA-fellows Members of our member-ass...

  On 9 april 2025, Jan Wind (president Eurodefense Nederland and president of the  Federation of European Defence Technology Associations  (EDTA)) had the opportunity to speak on European Cooperation at the Digital Innovation Summit. During his speech, he explained new intended policies of the European Commission, comments on these proposals as well as several technical issues and recommendations for solutions. European Union Policy Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, European authorities have become increasingly aware of the growing threats to our Union. NATO says we are between peace and war. In this twilight zone, hybrid attacks occur often. Sometimes physical attacks, but numerous cyber-attacks take place every single day on our continent. These attacks target the armed forces, but also governments, critical infrastructure and numerous companies. You all know that . In response, the new European Commission developed an unprecedented programme now called Readin...

  The reform of juste-retour, compensation and Industrial participation 29 May 2024 The Ukraine War has seriously added relevance to questions about effective ways to reshape the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). This is especially true in the EU where the traditional focus on national industry through economic offset and industrial participation has led to scattered development and costly production lines. Current policies of European Member States require compensation or industrial participation for the Defence industry when purchasing capabilities abroad. These are beneficial for the national industry of the Member States in the short and medium term, but complex and a cost driver for industry. In the long term this is not the best economic way forward for the European Union as a whole. National security is still used as main reason for these policies, but interdependence in the EU has risen to a level that strategic autonomy of a single Member State...

Eurodefense Netherlands and the  Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers  organise an  international seminar titled " European Policies for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence ". The seminar will take place in  hybrid  form on May 24th at KIVI in The Hague.  Follow this link to register . Early this year, the European Union recently adopted the groundbreaking European Union AI Act, marking a significant milestone in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. However, this law does not cover defence-related applications of AI. However, the development of AI in the defence sector is just as rapid as in other sectors of society. Therefore,  during our seminar, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of AI for our sector and the potential implications for European policies. Five leading speakers will provide a broad overview of future AI related developments in the defence sector and indicate their implications for exist...