The European Commission has welcomed a provisional deal between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on a package of measures intended to simplify defence procurement, speed up permitting for defence projects and ease cross-border transfers of defence products.
The agreement includes new EU-wide licences and wider exemptions from prior authorisation to make it easier to move defence products between EU countries and reduce delays, the Commission said on Wednesday.
Defence procurement procedures for public authorities and industry would also be streamlined under the deal, with the aim of reducing administrative requirements and accelerating purchases.
Faster permits and easier access to EU funding
A separate set of provisions would introduce a 42-working-day deadline for permit decisions on defence projects, with approvals becoming automatic if authorities do not respond in time, the Commission said.
Access to the European Defence Fund — an EU programme that supports collaborative defence research and development — would be simplified by reducing administrative requirements for applicants.
The package would also clarify how the EU’s REACH chemicals rules apply to the defence sector.
REACH is the EU regulation governing the registration and use of chemical substances.
The measures now move to formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council in the coming weeks.
“Today’s agreement on Defence Readiness Omnibus brings big change: Maximum 100 days to wait for defence industry permits instead of up to four years,” Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
The Commission proposed the “Defence Readiness Omnibus” in June 2025 as part of a wider simplification agenda.
