EU: Simplification of EU rules for defence and sensitive security procurement

 

The European Commission has launched a public consultation aimed at simplifying EU rules for defence and sensitive security procurement. This initiative responds to the commitment made in the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030 to reassess EU defence-procurement legislation in 2026.

Europe’s security situation has deteriorated significantly, driven above all by Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine and by the broader security implications of intensifying global competition in a more confrontational geopolitical environment. Against this backdrop, the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030 (March 2025) stressed that lasting peace requires credible deterrence and enhanced defence capabilities. The European Council Conclusions of 6 March 2025 underlined this message, calling for aggregated demand, harmonised requirements, and joint procurement to strengthen Europe’s industrial base and operational readiness.

The current Defence Procurement Directive (2009/81/EC) was adopted in 2009 and subsequently evaluated by the Commission in 2016 and by the European Parliament in 2020. To better address implementation challenges and evolving operational needs, the Defence Readiness Roadmap (October 2025) announced a revision of the legal framework, to follow an impact assessment. While the June 2025 Defence Readiness Omnibus introduced targeted amendments, further examination is needed to identify additional opportunities for simplification and to enhance the efficiency of the EU’s defence-procurement rules. Persistent issues—such as fragmentation, slow procedures, and limited transparency—continue to undermine effective procurement across the Union. Consequently, a legislative initiative to streamline defence and sensitive security procurement has been included in the Commission Work Programme for 2026, alongside a separate revision of the public procurement directives.

The planned simplification aligns with the broader ambition to advance a European Defence Union, building on the European Defence Industrial Strategy and supporting the overarching goal of achieving European Defence Readiness by 2030.

With war on the Union’s borders, the ability of Member States to procure innovative, cost-effective defence and sensitive-security equipment swiftly and flexibly has become a critical foundation of a robust, defence-ready EU. At the same time, any EU action in this domain must respect Member States’ legitimate national-security interests and their competences in defence and external relations.

Preliminary analysis has identified several key obstacles to rapid access to essential defence equipment: industrial production bottlenecks; lengthy and complex procedures; challenges in forming joint contracts; limited adaptability to new technologies and battlefield developments; legal uncertainty; and weak incentives for joint procurement.

Companies operating in the EU defence sector—especially startups, scale-ups, SMEs and new entrants—face limited visibility of procurement opportunities and procedures, particularly across borders. This stems partly from constrained transparency obligations for defence contracts, including the restricted visibility of opportunities on the EU’s Tenders Electronic Daily platform, as well as from insufficient digitalisation.

Although the combined EU defence-equipment market is potentially the second- or third-largest worldwide and Member States’ defence spending is set to rise substantially, the market remains highly fragmented along national lines. To ensure that increasing procurement expenditure strengthens the European industrial base and supports EU Defence Readiness by 2030, procurement must be facilitated by a modern, simplified legal framework. This includes enabling demand aggregation through joint procurement and considering mechanisms for a European preference.