EU lawmakers and the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement to set up a new €115 million defence innovation programme called AGILE to speed funding and support for smaller firms developing new military technologies.
The scheme, formally titled the programme for agile and rapid defence innovation, is designed to provide targeted financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups and scale-ups, working on “emerging and disruptive” defence technologies, the European Parliament announced on Wednesday.
AGILE would offer fast-track grants and provide access to testing and certification, with the programme designed around a four-month time-to-grant timeline set out by the European Commission.
Member states would be involved in setting challenges for the programme so that supported products match their capability needs, while procurement of AGILE-backed products would be simplified.
The agreement also includes measures intended to help connect SMEs with major defence companies — often referred to as “primes” in the sector — including dedicated matchmaking to increase uptake of products supported by AGILE.
Timetable and next steps
The provisional deal still needs formal approval by the European Parliament and the Council before it can become law, the Parliament said.
If adopted, the regulation would enter into force 20 days after being published in the EU Official Journal, and the programme is on track to become operational from early 2027.
The draft law was presented in the context of what the Parliament described as a changed security environment following Russia’s war against Ukraine, with lawmakers arguing that shorter defence innovation cycles are increasingly necessary.
