CURRENT INTELLIGENCE · V2
Europe Desk · Signal
EU Council approves 115-million-euro defense innovation program and simplification package
Record added
The Council of the EU adopted on October 12, 2026, a regulation establishing a new program for agile and rapid defence innovation worth 115 million euros, designed to provide financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises to move from prototype to operational capability. The AGILE program will focus on development and testing of innovative defence products and technologies, including adaptation of civil technologies for defence applications. On October 9, the Council gave final approval to the Omnibus V legislative package, a set of new laws simplifying security and defence procurement, facilitating defence investments, and supporting the defence industry by removing administrative delays in procurement, permitting, reporting, and cross-border cooperation.
These measures form part of the EU's broader effort to ramp up defence readiness by 2030, with member state defence expenditure projected to reach 454 billion euros in 2026, up 8.6 percent from 2025 and 75.3 percent from 2021. Defence investment is expected to reach nearly 163 billion euros in 2026, representing a 158.7 percent increase since 2021. The European Court of Auditors noted in an August 2026 review that while spending is rising rapidly, serious capability gaps remain and much investment continues to be organized nationally rather than collectively, highlighting the challenge of converting increased spending into coherent European defence capacity.
Sources
Council of the European Union, "Timeline - European defence readiness," accessed October 19, 2026, consilium.europa.eu Council of the European Union, "Programme for agile and rapid defence innovation: Council gives final green light," October 12, 2026, consilium.europa.eu Council of the European Union, "Simplification: Council gives final green light to new laws boosting defence industry and readiness," October 9, 2026, consilium.europa.eu Council of the European Union, "EU defence in numbers," accessed October 19, 2026, consilium.europa.eu European Court of Auditors, "EU defence policy in the spotlight," August 2026, eca.europa.eu
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