Recital (1)

Unprecedented geopolitical instability and the rapid deterioration of regional and global levels of threat and security, in particular Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, which has exposed the Union and its Member States to a high risk of materialisation of conventional military threats, require an urgent and significant increase in the Union’s spending on research, innovation and development, industrial capacity and development of infrastructure connected with resilience, security and defence. The European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) faces persistent barriers in accessing finance, in particular private finance for investment, due to the risks that market actors associate with such investment. As a consequence, leveraging public defence-related investment is vital. Therefore, as identified in the Joint White Paper of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 19 March 2025 for European Defence Readiness 2030 (the Joint White Paper), which provides a framework for the ReArm Europe Plan, the Union should do more to support the urgent need to increase European defence-related investment with the Union budget, alongside increases in national defence spending by the Member States. The leveraging of Union funding programmes to support dual-use and defence-related technologies and products serves as a step towards European defence readiness. Such leveraging is also intended to enhance civil-military cooperation across Member States, in light of mutually beneficial spill-over effects. The actions supported by the Union programmes concerned could duly take into account the relevant activities carried out by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and other partners where such activities serve the Union’s security and defence interests.