12 EU States Oppose Restrictions for Ukraine in Defense Programs

Twelve European Union countries have proposed to preserve for Ukraine the automatic possibility of participation in the defense-industrial part of the future European Competitiveness Fund. This concerns one of the key elements of the next long-term EU budget for 2028-2034.

A joint informal document was prepared by Germany, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Slovenia. They advocate for keeping future EU defense programs open to key partners outside the bloc.

Separately, the document's authors propose to preserve the automatic participation of Ukraine and the countries of the European Economic Area in the defense-industrial direction of the fund without the need to conclude a separate association agreement. This is not a final EU decision, but a position of a group of states ahead of negotiations on the structure of the future budget.

A dispute arose around the principle of the so-called European preference. France insists that EU budget funds first and foremost support the European defense industry and that strict restrictions apply to participation of companies from third countries. The twelve states believe that excessive closure of programs could complicate cooperation with such partners as Ukraine, the United Kingdom, or Canada.

According to the European Commission's proposal, the European Competitiveness Fund is to become one of the largest instruments of the next seven-year EU budget. The total volume of the fund is proposed to be set at more than 400 billion euros, with approximately 130 billion euros foreseen for defense and the space sector. Final parameters still need to be approved by EU countries and the European Parliament.

Ukraine is already gradually integrating into EU defense mechanisms. The European Commission reports that Ukrainian companies have the opportunity to participate together with enterprises of EU states in projects of the European Defense Fund and the European Defense Industry Programme. In addition, in July the EU agreed on the AGILE programme, which Ukrainian defense companies can also join.

The position of the 12 countries concerns the next budget period after 2027. Access rules to the new fund are still subject to negotiations, so the proposal on automatic participation of Ukraine does not currently mean that the corresponding regime is finally approved.

Based on materials from: Euractiv, European Commission