Today, the Commission has adopted a proposal for a Regulation by the European Parliament and the Council establishing the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) for 2022-2024. As announced in the Joint communication on the Defence Investment Gaps in May, the Commission is delivering on its commitment to set up a Short-Term EU Instrument reinforcing European defence industrial capacities through common procurement by EU Member States. The Instrument, responding to the European Council's request, aims to address the most urgent and critical needs for defence products, resulting from Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The Commission proposes to commit €500 million of EU budget from 2022 to 2024. The Instrument will incentivise Member States, in a spirit of solidarity, to commonly procure and will facilitate access for all Member States to urgently needed defence products.

It will avoid competition among Member States for the same products and facilitate cost savings. It will strengthen interoperability and allow the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) to better adjust and ramp-up its manufacturing capacities to deliver the needed products. The Instrument will support actions from consortia composed of at least three Member States. Eligible actions can involve new defence procurement projects or the extension of those launched since the start of the war.

In particular, the Instrument will:

• Foster Member States cooperation in defence procurement. This contributes to solidarity, interoperability and efficiency of public spending; prevents crowding-out (impossibility for Member States to satisfy their demand of defence products because of a demand peak); and avoids fragmentation.  
• Boost the competitiveness and efficiency of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, in particular by speeding up the adjustment of industry to structural changes, including ramp-up of its manufacturing capacities, resulting from the new security environment following Russia's aggression in Ukraine.  

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