Recital (6)

In light of the unprecedented geopolitical instability and the need for the Union to ensure its own defence and civil preparedness, cohesion policy funding should be swiftly mobilised to directly support investments in defence capabilities and civil security. It is therefore necessary to create new specific objectives for support from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund to finance industrial capacities in the defence sector and to allow for investments in resilient defence or dual-use infrastructure, including with a view to fostering military mobility and enhancing civil preparedness including cyber and civil security that are not necessarily related to mobility, in line with the scope of those funds and the do no significant harm principle and in cooperation with regional and local authorities. In addition, it should be possible to support civil preparedness as part of territorial and local development strategies. Industrial capacities to foster defence capabilities should relate to the technological development and production of defence products and other products for defence purposes, as defined in Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106, in particular those referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation. Member States are encouraged to use the possibility provided for in the current legal framework to voluntarily transfer resources allocated to them under shared management to directly managed programmes with defence and security objectives. In that context, transfers to the military mobility envelope under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) would ensure coordinated interventions along the military mobility corridors referred to in the Joint White Paper of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission of 19 March 2025 on European Defence– Readiness 2030. When supporting such investments, Member States are to consider, where applicable, the eligibility criteria set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2021/697 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the eligibility rules set out in Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2025/1106, or the relevant provisions of European defence industry programmes. Investments in dual-use infrastructure and capacities should be prioritised.