EU Commission to pitch defence omnibus package in June 2025

The European Commission will present a specific omnibus package for defence by June 2025, according to a draft of the forthcoming White Paper on the future of European defence seen by Euronews.

The special simplification regulation will aim to reduce fragmentation within the single market and increase defence production through a simpler and more harmonised regulatory environment for defence products and services, the Commission plans.

"Simplification is necessary to boost industrial defence production," the draft says, adding that harmonisation will overcome the "additional administrative burdens and costs imposed on industry by divergent rules".

The White Paper proposes that the regulation should focus on simplifying rules and procedures for defence procurement, intra-EU transfers of defence-related products, and boosting mutual recognition of national certification and licensing.

It also stresses that EU policies should support the bloc's defence industry through five different strategic directions: securing the supply of critical industrial inputs and reducing dependencies, promoting defence skills and expertise, strengthening and promoting industrial capacities across the EU, cutting red tape and removing barriers to the circulation of defence products.

Reducing the management of EU funded projects, reducing delivery times and simplifying co-funding for member states under state aid rules will be part of the omnibus simplification regulation.

The Commission will also assess the need to revise the Defence and Security Procurement Directive and the Intra-EU Transfers Directive.

To this end, the EU executive will immediately launch a strategic dialogue with the defence industry and the private financial sector to discuss possible actions, identify regulatory obstacles and address challenges.

Based on the outcome of this dialogue, the Commission will propose the Omnibus Defence Simplification Regulation by June 2025.

Adapting other EU policies and legislation beyond the defence industry to boost defence readiness is also among the options considered within the paper.

The White Paper also underlines the intention to integrate the Ukrainian defence industry into the European defence equipment market, once the €1.5 billion European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) is approved.

The plan is to provide further support to Ukraine through a dedicated Ukraine Support Instrument and by opening the activities of the EDIP to the country under the leadership of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

For such purposes, the EU Defence Innovation Office in Kyiv could also be scaled up, "allowing the EU to support and profit from Ukraine's war experience".