“It takes a crazy naivety to imagine that Trump will defend us against Russia through the purchase of F-35s.”
The “Program for Rapid and Agile Innovation in Defense,” called AGILE, plans to support around twenty projects from 2027 by subsidizing up to 100% of their eligible costs through a budget of 115 million euros.
The ambitious implementation deadline is four months, so that the technologies can reach defense forces within 1 to 3 years. The call for applications is scheduled for early 2027. Companies from countries like Norway and Ukraine are also eligible.
The regulations underlying AGILE still need to be approved by the Council (Member States) and the European Parliament. The program will be “fully aligned with the most urgent needs of the Member States,” assures the Commission.
“It’s the missing piece of the puzzle for defense technologies to quickly reach the market,” summarized Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, recalling the existence of the European Defense Fund, the EUDIS innovation program, and others.
The new instrument also aims to correct an anomaly in the European market compared to the United States: currently, 70 to 80% of public defense markets in the EU are concentrated in the hands of the ten largest manufacturers. Across the Atlantic, this figure is less than 40%.
Belgium and Germany want to intensify their defense cooperation: “We strengthen our own security, but also that of Europe.”
Commissioner Kubilius did not hide that the 115 million euros were “all we could find” within the framework of the EU’s 2021-2027 multiannual budget, by redirecting existing budgets. He hopes to see AGILE grow in the 2028-2034 budget. But “creating twenty new companies that would change the European market would already be a great success.”
The control of public money in AGILE will also be more risky, the commissioner admitted. With an administrative decision-making time of 4 months, for a technological development expected to be 6 to 12 months or less, the evaluation procedures will be swift, and the control will also rely on the self-declarations of the applicants, who can receive from 1 to 5 million euros. “It’s an incredible speed, in other words, we will have to accept much more risk on our side, especially during preliminary evaluations.”
