Upcoming report: EU defence spending

​On Wednesday 26 April, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish a special report assessing whether the €90 million preparatory action on defence research (PADR) had prepared the EU well for a significant increase in its defence spending through the €8 billion European Defence Fund (EDF).

BACKGROUND

This is the ECA's first audit in the defence area. The EU's auditors assessed whether the PADR properly prepared the EU for a defence spending hike through the EDF, which was launched in 2021 and marked a step-change in the level of EU funding for defence R&D. The European Commission launched the PADR in 2017 as a three-year programme to help improve competitiveness and innovation in the European defence industry. The EU's executive implemented the programme in cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA). This was the first time the EU budget was used to support research and development (R&D) in the defence industry. The PADR had by far the biggest budget of all EU pilot projects and preparatory actions between 2014 and 2019: it funded 18 projects focusing on technologies such as adaptive camouflage, bullet-proof vests and laser systems.

FOR PRESS

• The ECA's press office will hold a virtual briefing on Wednesday 26 April. Journalists who wish to participate should contact [email protected] for details.
• The report and press release will be published on the ECA website eca.europa.eu at 5.00 p.m. CET on Wednesday 26 April.
• The ECA member responsible for this report is Viorel Ştefan.

The ECA's special reports set out the results of its audits of EU policies and programmes or management topics related to specific budgetary areas. The ECA selects and designs these audit tasks to be of maximum impact by considering the risks to performance or compliance, the level of income or spending involved, forthcoming developments and political and public interest.