The European Defence Fund, proposed by the European Commission in June 2018, is part of the EU’s long-term budget for the period 2021-2027.

Under the current programming cycle ending in 2020, EU cooperation in terms of defence has a budget envelope of €590 million among which 90 million is allocated for research over 2017-2019 and 500 million for developing equipment and technology during 2019-2020. Under the next EU long-term budget, €13 billion will be allocated to a fully-fledged European Defence Fund, a first in European history. This fund will cover both the research and defence capability strands. 

This provisional agreement, subject to final formal adoption by the European Parliament and Council, will increase the EU’s strategic autonomy, bolster the EU’s ability to protect its citizens and make the EU a stronger global actor.