Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Removed(e) the testing, including the necessary infrastructure, and, as appropriate, reconditioning certification of defence products with a view to addressing their obsolescence and making them useable by end users.

Removed1. For activities referred to in paragraph -1, points (a), (b) and (c), in order to be eligible for funding actions shall be exclusively related to the production capacities of defence products, including their components and raw materials insofar as they are intended or used wholly for the production of defence products.

Removed1a. For activities referred to in paragraph -1, point (d), in order to be eligible for funding actions, the ownership of intellectual property arising from such action shall not be subject to restriction by a non-associated third country or a non-associated third-country entity, nor transferred to entities established outside the territory of the Member State or of associated countries. The action shall be carried out by legal entities cooperating within a consortium of at least four eligible legal entities which are established in at least four different Member States or associated countries among which at least four eligible entities established in four different Member States. At least four of those eligible legal entities established in at least three different Member States or associated countries shall not, during the entire period in which the action is carried out, be controlled, directly or indirectly, by the same legal entity and shall not control each other.

Removed1b. By way of derogation from paragraph 1a, the action may be carried out by a Structure for European Armament Programme.

Removed2. These actions shall be without prejudice to Union competition rules, and in particular Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

RemovedSupporting actions

Removed1. Supporting activities (‘support actions’) may cover:

Removed(a) activities that aim to increase interoperability and interchangeability, including the cross certification of defence products and activities leading to mutual recognition of certification or to facilitate the implementation of military standards, and that aim to reduce the variety of defence products across the Union fulfilling similar operational duties;

Removed(b) activities to strengthen security of supply and resilience, in particular by facilitating the access to the defence market for SMEs, small mid-caps, other mid-caps and start-ups and support to obtain the necessary quality and production certifications;

Removed(c) the training, reskilling or upskilling of personnel in relation to the activities referred to in this Article;

Removed(d) the procurement of physical and cyber protection systems in relation to the activities referred to in Article 13, including effective engagement, as well as other activities incorporating a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy to protect against cyber threats and ensure the resilience of the defence systems;

Removed(da) the development and integration of software solutions in relation to the activities referred to in Article 12, including applications for command and control, reconnaissance, threats detection, counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), and other countermeasure technologies, to enhance the operational effectiveness and resilience of defence systems;

Removed(e) coordination and (technical) support actions, in particular addressing identified bottlenecks in production capacities and supply chains with a view to securing and accelerating the production of crisis-relevant products in order to ensure their effective supply and timely availability;

Removed(f) Union support to Structures for European Armament Programme notably for the purpose of managing and maintaining a Defence Industrial Readiness Pool as referred to in Article 21g;

Removed(g) emergency activities, including emergency defence innovation where the measure referred to in Article 52 is activated.

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Removed-1. Proposals for actions shall be assessed in light of the objectives of White Paper for European Defence, the EDIS, the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence, and shall prioritise the defence capability priorities commonly agreed by Member States within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), in particular in the context of the Capability Development Plan.

Removed1. Each proposal shall be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Removed(a) defence industrial readiness: contribution to competitiveness, increase production capacities, reduce lead times, eliminate bottlenecks thereby increasing interoperability and interchangeability of the European armed forces capabilities and, where applicable, within NATO;

Removed(aa) defence industrial sovereignty: contribution to the strategic autonomy of the Union through strengthening the autonomy and non-dependency on non-associated country sources for the EDTIB;

Removed(b) defence industrial resilience: contribution to resilience, increased timely availability and supply to all locations, improving the geographical distribution of manufacturing and stockpiling capacities, in particular in Union areas most directly suffering from capability gaps, needs and shortages, preventing overconcentration of activities in a limited number of Member States, and strengthening security of supply throughout the Union in response to identified risks, including in particular high exposure to the risk of materialisation of conventional military threats▌;

Removed(c) defence industrial cooperation: fostering genuine armament cooperation among Member States and associated countries ▌and development and operationalisation of cross-border cooperation between undertakings established in different Member States, associated countries or Ukraine, involving in particular, to a significant extent, SMEs, small mid-caps and other mid-caps as recipients, as subcontractors or as other undertakings in the supply chain;

Removed(d) the quality of the implementation plan of the action, in particular measures to respect delivery lead times, including in terms of its processes and monitoring.

Removed1a. In addition to the criteria set out in paragraph 1, proposals for common procurement actions referred to in Article 12, shall be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Removed(a) the participation of SMEs and mid-caps;

Removed(b) the action’s contribution to the adaptation, modernisation and development of the EDTIB;

Removed(c) the number of participating Member States or associated countries;

Removed1b. In addition to the criteria set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, proposals for industrial reinforcement actions referred to in Article 13 shall be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Removed(a) reduction of lead production time and increase in production capacity in the Union, reserved capacity, and workforce skilled;

Removed(b) contribution to ensuring availability and security of supply throughout the Union in response to identified risks, including in particular high exposure to the risk of materialisation of conventional military threats;

Removed(c) contribution to cross-border defence industrial cooperation throughout the Union, improving the inclusion of SMEs and mid-caps or link with orders stemming from common procurement of defence products by at least four Member States or associated countries.

Removed2. The work programme shall lay down further details concerning the application of the award criteria laid down in paragraph 1, including any weighting to be applied. The work programme shall not set individual thresholds.

Removed1. By way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, the Programme may finance up to 100 % of the eligible costs. ▌

Removed2. An action shall be eligible for an increased funding rate where it fulfils one or more of the following criteria:

Removed(a) the action is developed in the context of a Structure for European Armament Programme SEAP, as referred to in Chapter III of this Regulation or in the context of a project of PESCO, provided that this project complies with obligations comparable to those under Article 22(1), 23(1), 25 and 26 of this Regulation and that it did not benefit from a comparable increased funding rate in another EU funding programme;

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Removed(c) Member States agree on a common approach to exports for defence products developed and procured in the context of a Structure for European Armament Programme (SEAP);

Removed(ca) Member States adopt a joint, harmonised and mutually recognised certification scheme for defence products in the context of a Structure for European Armament Programme (SEAP);

Removed(d) the beneficiary is an SME or small mid-cap or the majority of beneficiaries participating in a consortium are SMEs or small mid-caps.

Removed(da) the action is carried out by a large consortium of eligible entities which are established in different Member States or associated countries, ensuring a wider geographical participation;

Removed(db) the cost of components originating in the Union or associated countries exceeds the threshold set out in Article 11(2a) by 10 percent.

Removed2a. For activities referred to in Article 13 the support from the Programme shall not exceed 35 % of the eligible costs.

Removed2b. By way of derogation from paragraph 2a of this Article, the Union financial contribution to each action referred to in Article 13 may amount to up to 50% of the eligible costs provided that the beneficiary of the action is an SME, a mid-cap or a consortium of SMEs or mid-caps, and that at least one of the following conditions is met:

Removed(a) the beneficiary demonstrates a contribution to the creation of new cross-border cooperation between entities established in Member States or associated countries;

Removed(b) the action involves building new infrastructure, facilities or production lines from the ground up or on sites not previously used for such activities, in regions of the Union where the EDTIB is not present, contributing to the development of supply chains and technology transfer throughout the Union;

Removed(c) the action contributes to the establishment of new or the ramping-up of existing manufacturing capacities of crisis-relevant products.

Removed3. The work programme shall lay down further details, including, where relevant, the increased funding rates referred to in paragraph 2.

Removed3a. The Union contribution through the financial envelope defined in Article 5(1) shall support:

Removed(a) common procurement actions pursuant to Article 12 with at least 15% and no more than 25%;

Removed(b) industrial reinforcement actions pursuant to Article 13 with at least 25% and no more than 40%;

Removed(c) European Defence Projects of Common Interest with no more than 45%;

Removed(d) the establishment of FAST, as referred to in Article 19, with a budget of 225 million euros.

Removed1. The Programme shall be implemented by work programmes as referred to in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation. Work programmes may be multiannual, when appropriate. Work programmes shall set out the actions and associated budget required to meet the objectives of the Programme and, where applicable, the overall amount reserved for blending operations.

Removed1a. By way of derogation from Article 18(1) of this Regulation, projects that have been selected for the reserve list of Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 shall be considered instantly for award with regard to eligibility criteria of this Regulation. By way of derogation from Article [defining the funding rate for common procurement], these projects may collectively be funded with a total amount of up to 6% from the budget laid out in Article 5(1), point (a), taking into account the provisions for additional funding rates as laid out in Article 17(2) for the definition of the actual funding rate.

Removed2. The Commission shall adopt work programmes by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 58(3).

Removed2-a. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 56a concerning work programmes to set out the funding of actions related to European Defence Projects of Common Interest. A separate delegated act shall be adopted for each action.

Removed2a. The work programme shall include in particular:

Removed(a) the overall amount of the Union contribution to each type of action referred to in Article 11, in line with Article 17(3a);

Removed(b) a description of the action;