Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) 2021/694, (EU) 2021/695, (EU) 2021/697, (EU) 2021/1153, (EU) 2023/1525 and 2024/795, as regards inc...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Proposal for a Brussels, 22.4.2025 COM(2025) 188 final 2025/0103 (COD) REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) 2021/694, (EU) 2021/695, (EU) 2021/697, (EU) 2021/1153, (EU) 2023/1525 and 2024/795, as regards incentivising defence-related investments in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan (Text with EEA relevance) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL • Reasons for and objectives of the proposal President Von der Leyen announced in the Political Guidelines that a new era for defence lies ahead of us. The EU will work in the next five years to build a true European Defence Union. The last decades have exposed a chronic underinvestment and lack of efficient spending in our military capabilities, affecting the production capacities of the European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB) and its innovation potential, while fragmenting nationally the defence market. To frame this new approach and to identify the EU investment needs, the European Commission and the High Representative presented a Joint White Paper - European Defence Readiness 2030 on 19 March 2025. The White Paper highlights that Member States face an acute and growing threat, requiring a coordinated reply in the spirit of solidarity. War, aggression and other hostile acts have been affecting the continent. The only way to ensure peace and deciding on the EU’s own future is to have the...