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...

In December 2023 our Dutch member association Royal Society of Engineers (KIVI) submitted  recommendations for the European Defence Industry strategy   to the European Commission. Titled " The future of juste-retour, compensation and Industrial participation " European Union Defence industry The proposal states that in the 21st century interdependence in the EU has risen to a level that strategic autonomy of a single Member State is impossible. Even when export boosts a Member State industry, a certain level of dependence on (sub)systems from other Member States cannot be avoided. Therefore the EU policy is aimed at achieving strategic autonomy of the European Union as a whole.  To reach this goal it is important to change the current market-distorting practice of compulsory offset or industrial participation into a more open market. For this purpose, a new structure is necessary to recognise European companies and allow them to participate within Europe and for exports...

  The Ukraine War has seriously added relevance to questions about effective ways to better arrange defence procurement and the defence industry. This is especially true in the EU where the traditional focus on national industry has led to scattered production and costly manufacturing lines. Join us for a discussion on a draft Eurodefense recommendation to the European Commission on advanced ideas how to plan ahead for a European defence industrial base (EDTIB) that is up to the task of developing and equipping the armed forces of the member states.

Springbok armoured vehicle by DCD Protected Mobility On 16 August 2023, EDTA president Jan Wind  was invited to speak about Financial Public Private Partnerships ( FPPPs ) at the  Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) for Security and Defence Conference   organised by Defenceweb in Pretoria (South Africa) . His main message was that innovation could speed up if private funds are used effectively in a Public Private Partnerships for Defence. Similarly, private financing methods could be used for major programmes: manufacturing of capabilities and in-service support. It could be important for the South African Defence to take advantage of these opportunities to strengthen its capabilities. Conclusions 1. Progress in Europe Financial Public Private Partnerships are pursued by the European Union, NATO and several European member states. These seem to be quite complex to develop, but it has advantages to involve the financial sector in national security. Certainly, since ...

  On 15 February 2023 EDTA and the  Eurodefense network sent " Recommendations on Energy, Security and Defence " to the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.  The recommendations are a report of a joint working group (EWG26B) and consist of Geopolitical Considerations, European Energy policies proposals and a technological perspective .  For EDTA the technological perspective is the most relevant part. Continue reading for this part of the executive summary and for recommendations on technology, specific for Defence. Links to the other part of the recommendations can be found at the bottom of this page. General Considerations  The energy transition for defence needs to progress in several areas. Energy sources, energy carriers (i.e. fuels/storage), energy efficiency/savings, and smart energy applications and design. Naturally all of this must be clean and sustainable, or at least better than the ones they replac...

  Seminar on European Defence cooperation organised by Eurodefense and EDTA at the occasion of the Eurodefense Presidents Council, held in the Netherlands for the first time since 2013.  Use this link to register for online participation .  During this seminar views from the Netherlands on future European Defence cooperation will be presented and discussed with an international audience. Presidents and board members of the 15  Eurodefense  member associations will participate as part of their 3 day conference. Speakers: Sander van der Sluis  (Head of European Union Defence Policy at NL MoD) Netherlands Defence policy white paper 2022 Bart Groothuis  (Member European Parliament, Renew Europe) Future of European Defence Maarten Lutje Schipholt  (Netherlands Industries for Defence and Security foundation NIDV) Industry views on European cooperation Ron Keller  (former Netherlands Ambassador to a.o. Ankara, Kiev, Moscow and Beijing...

       Today the EDTA annual report was published. Download the report here .

             NATO AWACS, photo courtesy NL MoD Keynote at the 17 th NATO LCM conference, by Jan Wind, president of the EDTA. Brussels, 18 May 2022 Introduction In this presentation, I will discuss the changed security environment, recent developments in the European Union and persistent issues related to Small and Medium Enterprises in the Defence sector. I present some of my views on the effects on the Defence industry. In particular, some of the developments and opportunities related to finance.   Security environment The Defence industry sector will change rapidly due to political developments within the European Union and also because the world is getting less secure. Many foreign policy experts warn already for a long time for increased tensions. However, it became a clear and present danger in February when the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. A steel-on-steel war most people did not believe would ever happen again. That assessment prove...