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DRAFT REPORT (2025/2143(INI))

On ‘Tackling barriers to the single market for defence’

SEDE-PR-778252

Committee on Security and Defence · Rapporteur: Tobias Cremer

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

This draft report calls for a true single market for defence to overcome fragmentation, regulatory barriers and underinvestment, urging joint procurement, simplified transfers and export rules, and a 'buy European' approach. It asks the Commission to revise Directive 2009/81/EC, clarify Article 346 TFEU, harmonise intra-EU transfers, and propose NATO-standard legislation, while stressing Parliament's oversight role.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes a resolution calling for a true single market for defence, with specific actions for the Commission, Council and Member States.

Key points

  1. Calls for a complete rethinking of defence cooperation to develop a true single market for defence, as recommended by the Letta, Draghi and Niinistö reports.
  2. Notes that enhanced cooperation could save up to 30 % of annual defence spending, at least EUR 57 billion annually, boosting competitiveness and strategic sovereignty.
  3. Urges Member States and the Commission to act swiftly on supply and demand sides, including aggregating demand and regulatory simplification.
  4. Deplores lack of coordinated capability planning and spending, which leads to divergent rules and prioritisation of bilateral cooperation with non-EU countries.
  5. Calls for dedicated support for SMEs and small mid-caps in the defence supply chain to increase innovation and resilience.
  6. Calls on the Council and Commission to adequately fund EU defence programmes under the next multiannual financial framework to incentivise joint development and procurement.
  7. Calls on Member States to apply a 'buy European' approach prioritising the EDTIB, Ukraine, EEA/EFTA countries and third countries with Security and Defence Partnerships.
  8. Urges treating Ukraine as an integral part of the single market for defence to the utmost extent possible.
  9. Calls for an ambitious revision of Directive 2009/81/EC and a Commission recommendation on interpreting Article 346 TFEU.
  10. Calls for simplifying intra-EU transfers, eliminating authorisation for integrated components, and agreeing on new common export control rules.
  11. Calls for an EU-NATO cooperation agreement and a legislative proposal to enforce NATO standards for equipment, ammunition and stocks.
  12. Stresses the need for a proactive EU role in dual-use technologies, localising supply chains, and ensuring Parliament's central role in oversight.

Who is affected

  • EU Member States: urged to adopt 'buy European' and simplify transfers and export rules.
  • European defence industry (EDTIB): benefits from predictable orders and cross-border integration.
  • Ukraine: to be treated as part of the single market for defence.
  • SMEs and small mid-caps: need dedicated support for supply chain involvement.

Figures and deadlines

  • 30 %: potential efficiency savings from enhanced cooperation.
  • EUR 57 billion: annual savings amount.

Legal basis: Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)