Ukraine to gain access to the European Defence Fund: what this means

Ukraine is set to receive associate country status, granting it the right to participate in funding programmes from the European Defence Fund (EDF). The announcement was made last week by Martin Jõesaar, programme manager at the EU Defence Innovation Office in Ukraine. He shared more details on 9 November during the European Defence Tech Hackathon, held for the first time in Kyiv. Defender Media attended the event to report on the details.

The EDF is the EU’s largest instrument for financing defence research and development. It primarily funds large-scale defence projects, ranging from €20 million to €120 million per project. These projects are carried out by consortia of companies from different countries. A consortium must include at least three companies from three different European nations, but according to Jõesaar, 10 to 15 companies usually collaborate on a single challenge. Associate status will allow Ukrainian companies to join such consortia and receive EDF funding.

Martin clarified that further steps for Ukraine and additional details will be announced within a few weeks. At present, only a political decision has been made, and its implementation is expected to take six to twelve months.

How Ukraine obtained its new EDF status

New opportunities for Ukraine have emerged following the signing of a provisional agreement between the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The document will enable greater investment in the defence sector and extend these programmes to include Ukraine. The decision forms part of the ReArm Europe plan, aimed at strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities by 2030, according to an EU statement.

“We must maximise investment in defence and dual-use technologies to prepare for the future — together in Europe and with Ukraine,” said Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

The provisional agreement largely maintains the European Commission’s original proposals to accelerate investment in Europe’s defence technology base. To achieve this, changes will be made to five EU programmes: Digital Europe, the European Defence Fund, the Connecting Europe Facility, the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), and Horizon Europe.

The document also introduces amendments to several EU programmes — including Digital Europe, Horizon Europe, and the Connecting Europe Facility — allowing their funds to be directed towards the development of defence and dual-use technologies.

The agreement still requires formal approval. Once it is ratified, Ukrainian companies will be able to take part in joint research and development projects under the EDF.

The EDF, with a budget of approximately €9.5 billion for the 2021–2027 period, supports collaborative research and development in the defence sector among EU member states, promoting technological autonomy and the competitiveness of Europe’s defence industry.