The EU Global Strategy calls for a structured dialogue with defence industry to ensure a solid EDTIB, whose strength and competitiveness depends not only on original equipment manufacturers or prime contractors but also on a range of innovative SMEs and mid-cap companies. An evolving industrial and innovation landscape which sees new opportunities for industry arrive via the EU defence initiatives, and which demands that EDA reviews its engagement with industry.
Building on these principles, the priorities for EDA’s industry engagement focus on the capability development process, R&T and innovation, Key Strategic Activities, wider EU policies and overall support to industry.
EDA’s support to industry aims to improve information sharing (e.g. Industry Engagement Roadmap, SME Corner, regular newsletters), encourage the creation of cross-border partnerships (e.g. B2B events and online B2B Platform) and enabling access to available EU funding. Our support activities and tools are listed below.
Industry Engagement Roadmap
The EDA Industry Engagement Roadmap offers an overview of the key activities during the implementation process in 2024.
EU Funding
Access to funding is critical both for national and cooperative defence projects. At the European level, EDA works to ensure access to EU funding - in a smart, immediate and effective way - through our dedicated EU funding gateway.
SME Corner
The SME Corner aims to provide defence-related SMEs with simple, smart and short advice on how to easily access the defence market.
B2B Platform
The B2B Platform aims to facilitate cross-border partnerships between European defence industry stakeholders by allowing them to quickly and easily search for potential partners for their defence-related businesses.
Industry Newsletter
Sign-up to EDA’s dedicated industry newsletter for latest updates and news on EDA’s work with industry.
Directories
EDA provides a list of useful directories with useful information and contacts for industry and research & technology organisations (RTOs).