Sittings · Document

DRAFT OPINION (2025/2142(INI)) 2025-09-29

On European Defence Readiness 2030: assessment of needs

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Katri Kulmuni

PA_NonLeg

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs submits the following to the Committee on Security and Defence, as the committee responsible :

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Citation 7 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the report of 17 April 2024 by Enrico Letta entitled ‘Much more than a market’ (Letta report),

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Citation 7 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the report of 30 October 2024 by Sauli Niinistö entitled ‘Safer Together – Strengthening Europe’s Civilian and Military Preparedness and Readiness’ (Niinistö report),

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Recital A

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

A. whereas, according to the European Defence Agency (EDA), after a decline in 2014, Member States’ defence expenditure reached EUR 326 billion in 2024, or 1.9% of their GDP;

A. whereas, according to the European Defence Agency (EDA), after a decline in 2014, Member States’ defence expenditure reached EUR 343 billion in 2024, corresponding to 1.9 % of their GDP, an increase of 19 % compared to 2023; whereas, according to the EDA, Member States may exceed the 2 % NATO guideline in 2025;

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Recital B

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B. whereas the Commission estimates that Member States will need to invest an additional EUR 800 billion in defence by 2030 under the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, involving an annual increase of 10 % in spending to reach around EUR 575 billion in 2030, or 3.15 % of combined GDP; whereas, in its proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, the Commission allocates EUR 131 billion to defence and space, five times more than in the previous period;

B. whereas the Draghi report highlights the need for coordinated European approaches to strategic investments in defence, and the Commission is supporting the Member States in their defence investment efforts with up to EUR 800 billion until 2030 through different measures under the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, involving an annual increase of up to 10 % in spending to reach up to EUR 575 billion in 2030, or 3.15 % of combined GDP;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Recital B a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

B a. whereas, in its proposal for the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2028-2034, the Commission allocates EUR 131 billion to defence and space, five times more than in the previous period, with implications for EU budgetary discipline and the design of financing mechanisms related to defence;

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Recital C

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C. whereas, according to the EDA, 30% of Member States’ defence expenditure in 2024 was devoted to investment, of which 88.2% was for the acquisition of new equipment and 11.8% for research and development; whereas, under the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, this increase is expected to generate at least EUR 240 billion in additional investment by 2030;

C. whereas, according to the EDA, 31 % of Member States’ defence expenditure in 2024 was devoted to investment, of which 88.2 % was for the acquisition of new equipment and 11.8 % for research and development; whereas expenditure on the procurement of defence equipment reached EUR 88 billion in 2024, 39 % more than in 2023; whereas, under the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, this increase is expected to generate at least EUR 240 billion in additional investment by 2030; whereas the expansion of procurement and research and development (R&D) investment is expected to mobilise European supply chains, stimulate technological innovation and support industrial growth;

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Recital D a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

D a. whereas, according to the EDA, spending on defence R&D in the Member States was 20 % higher in 2024 than in 2023, reaching EUR 13 billion;

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Recital F

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

F. whereas, according to a Commission study, SMEs in the EDTIB face greater difficulties than those in other sectors in obtaining credit and equity financing due to: (i) irregular public procurement and payment delays between subcontractors, which reduces cash flow visibility; (ii) the exclusion of defence activities by some investors for image reasons; and (iii) limited exit opportunities for defence assets on European capital markets;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Recital G

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

G. whereas additional financing needs for the EDTIB for the period 2025-2030 are estimated at between at least EUR 30 billion and EUR 40 billion, of which EUR 6 billion to EUR 18 billion will need to be met through equity; whereas this highlights the relevance of the EU’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) in mobilising long-term private capital and attracting institutional investors;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

2. Welcomes the proposals set out in the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan to offer Member States greater budgetary flexibility, in particular the loan facility under the EUR 150 billion ‘Security Action for Europe’ instrument; regrets, however, that the Commission has based this instrument on Article 122 TFEU, thereby ruling out consultation with Parliament, which prevents monitoring and control of the funds and risks exacerbating disparities between Member States; calls on the Commission to refrain from applying this article to other components of the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, as well as to other issues related to defence financing;

2. Welcomes the proposals set out in the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan to encourage increased defence spending and strengthen the EDTIB; considers, however, that these measures are insufficient to meet the financing needs identified by the Draghi report, and that massive additional investment efforts will be required to enable the EU to achieve strategic autonomy; stresses that financing should be based on facilitated access to private capital, national contributions, existing budgetary margins, or alternative mechanisms that respect fiscal responsibility;

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

2a. Stresses that all defence-related financial instruments and spending programmes, including those under the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, must remain subject to full budgetary scrutiny by Parliament, and rejects the use of Article 122 TFEU or similar mechanisms to bypass parliamentary oversight;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 3 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

3 a. Stresses that although spending on defence R&D in the EU reached EUR 13 billion in 2024, it still represents a modest share of total expenditure compared to global competitors; calls on the Commission to devote a greater proportion of the European Defence Fund and related instruments to disruptive and dual-use technologies (AI, cyber, quantum, space), ensuring that results are scalable for operational use; underlines that synergies with civilian innovation programmes such as Horizon Europe and the European Innovation Council should be strengthened to maximise impact and avoid duplication;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 4

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

4. Calls on the Commission to consolidate and clarify the ‘defence’ envelope provided for in the 2028-2034 MFF, exploring all options to support Member States’ defence investments, including strengthening NATO’s eastern border and the Black Sea region; recalls the specific nature of the defence sector and considers that the future European Competitiveness Fund, as envisaged in the Commission’s proposed MFF for 2028-2034, must retain all the criteria and procedures currently used in European defence industry financing instruments, in particular the criteria relating to the European Defence Fund and the future European Defence Investment Programme, while ensuring compliance with principles of fiscal responsibility;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 5

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

5. Regrets that the EIB’s investment policy still excludes ‘arms and munitions’; calls, in the interests of consistency with the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, for the EIB to strengthen its commitment to the European defence industry; suggests formally extending its mandate to include support for the EDTIB within a specialised subsidiary, backed by Commission guarantees and supported by a network of experts; believes that such a structure would be a more effective solution than the creation of a new ‘defence, security and resilience bank’, as proposed in the resolution on the White Paper on the future of European defence;

5. Regrets that the EIB’s investment policy still excludes ‘arms and munitions’ despite repeated calls by Parliament for change, and that its interventions so far have lacked the sufficient speed, risk appetite and scale to meet urgent defence-readiness needs; calls, in the interests of consistency with the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan, for the EIB to strengthen its commitment to the European defence industry; takes note of the progress made in opening up its criteria, but considers that these remain insufficient in light of the needs and expectations expressed by European defence companies; suggests formally extending its mandate to include support for the EDTIB within a specialised subsidiary, backed by Commission guarantees and supported by a network of experts; believes that such a structure would be a more effective solution than the creation of a new ‘defence, security and resilience bank’, as proposed in the resolution on the White Paper on the future of European defence; considers that, irrespective of whether financing instruments are provided by the EIB or through the establishment of an ad hoc bank, speed and efficiency must remain the priorities when mobilising funds for the development of the EDTIB;

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 9

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

9. Notes that, despite the efforts made since the start of the war in Ukraine, many investors remain reluctant to finance defence due to a strict interpretation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, as well as image risk; calls on financial actors to improve their proficiency in analysing and processing defence-related financing; urges the Commission to step up its information and awareness-raising efforts regarding EDTIB financing;

9. Notes that, despite the efforts made since the start of the war in Ukraine, many investors remain reluctant to finance defence due to a strict interpretation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, as well as image risk; recalls that many defence technologies are dual–use in nature and thus generate significant spillover benefits for civilian innovation and the broader European economy; stresses the need to ensure that defence-related investments are included under sustainable finance rules; calls on financial actors to improve their proficiency in analysing and processing defence-related financing; urges the Commission to step up its information and awareness-raising efforts regarding EDTIB financing;

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

10. Calls on the Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority to replace the concept of ‘controversial weapons’ with that of ‘prohibited weapons’, in line with the definition set out in the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/[…], adopted as part of the Defence Readiness Omnibus; stresses that this definition is limited to those weapons expressly prohibited under binding international conventions; calls on private financial actors to restrict their exclusions to this consolidated list and to publish their investment policies; proposes that the inclusion in European financing of actors whose investment policies go beyond this exclusion be reviewed on a case-by-case basis;

10. Emphasises the urgent need for the Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority to replace the concept of ‘controversial weapons’ with that of ‘prohibited weapons’, in line with the definition set out in the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/[…], adopted as part of the Defence Readiness Omnibus; stresses that this definition is limited to those weapons expressly prohibited under binding international conventions; calls on private financial actors to restrict their exclusions to this consolidated list and to publish their investment policies; proposes that the inclusion in European financing of actors whose investment policies go beyond this exclusion be reviewed on a case-by-case basis;

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11. Calls on the Commission to publicly reaffirm that the EU Green Taxonomy does not prohibit investment in defence; calls for defence activities to be recognised within this taxonomy as contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (‘Peace, justice and strong institutions’), as part of the prevention of armed conflict and as a guarantee of peace;

11. Calls on the Commission to propose, as soon as possible, a revision of the Taxonomy Delegated act announced in the Commission notice of 17 June 2025 on the application of the sustainable finance framework and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to the defence sector, in order to publicly reaffirm that the EU Green Taxonomy does not prohibit investment in defence; calls for defence activities to be recognised within this taxonomy as contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (‘Peace, justice and strong institutions’), as part of the prevention of armed conflict and as a guarantee of peace;

Or. en

Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

12. Considers it essential to support a European market of specialised investors offering a continuum of financing (credit, private debt and equity) to companies in the EDTIB at all stages (start-ups, SMEs and mid-cap companies); welcomes the Commission and the EIB’s initiative to establish the Defence Equity Facility, with a budget of EUR 175 million for the period 2024-2027; encourages the EIB to increase this budget to EUR 1 billion in order to better meet the equity needs of the EDTIB and its value chain;

12. Considers it essential to support a European market of specialised investors offering a continuum of financing (credit, private debt and equity) to companies in the EDTIB at all stages (start-ups, SMEs and mid-cap companies); welcomes the Commission and the EIB’s initiative to establish the Defence Equity Facility, with a budget of EUR 175 million for the period 2024-2027; considers this fund entirely insufficient in view of financing needs and calls on the EIB to comply with the wishes of the Member States, as reiterated in Council conclusions, by increasing this budget to EUR 1 billion in order to better meet the equity needs of the EDTIB and its value chain;

Or. en