The Council of the European Union approved the first five European defence projects of common interest on Monday 28 September 2026, in a move aimed at strengthening the continent’s defence readiness and industrial capacity through joint programmes covering drones, maritime security, space, air and missile defence, and protection of the Union’s eastern flank.
The Council’s approval allows the projects to move into the funding and implementation phase under the European Defence Industry Programme, which has a budget of €1.5 billion. The European Commission had allocated €325 million to support the establishment of the five projects and the deployment of their initial capabilities, with the possibility of further funding later through the forthcoming European Competitiveness Fund.
The new initiatives fall under the title ‘European Defence Projects of Common Interest’. They provide frameworks for industrial and military cooperation between countries developing capabilities that EU institutions consider too large or complex for a single country to deliver on its own.
European and Ukrainian participation in defence projects
An average of 18 member states are taking part in each project, while Ukraine is joining four of the five projects. Participation is also open to Norway. The first project, known as ‘European Drone and Counter-Drone Resolve’, focuses on helping participating countries develop, increase production of and deploy drones, alongside developing technologies to detect and counter hostile drones.
The project aims to address capability gaps and support cooperation in the production, testing and field use of the new systems. The ‘Integrated Seas and Seabed Defence’ project seeks to establish an interconnected and interoperable defence system allowing participating countries to detect, deter and respond to threats at sea and below the surface.
Its scope includes protecting maritime areas and infrastructure on the seabed, including cables and critical underwater installations. The third project addresses European space capabilities, including the development of early-warning satellites capable of detecting missile launches, enhanced satellite communications, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
It also covers precise positioning and timing systems, technologies to counter navigation jamming, and the ability to launch replacement satellites rapidly when needed. The fourth project is called ‘Integrated and Unified EU Air and Missile Defence, including Early Warning’.
It aims to provide member states with a collective and coordinated system to counter air and missile threats, combining early warning, detection of incoming dangers and joint command systems to enable a coordinated response among participating countries. The fifth project, ‘Eastern Flank Watch’, focuses on strengthening security along the eastern borders of the participating countries.
The project covers land, air, maritime, cyber and other operational domains, with the aim of protecting the territories of the countries concerned and raising their readiness against threats that could target the Union’s eastern flank.
Irish minister highlights cooperation with Norway and Ukraine
Irish Defence Minister Helen McEntee said the projects demonstrated practical cooperation between member states to provide for their security, adding that close work with Norway and Ukraine represented steps to protect space, the air, the seas and underwater cables, as well as the citizens who rely on this infrastructure. According to the European Commission, it will help coordinate the implementation of the projects, provide financial support and monitor progress against the agreed objectives and timelines.
Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius previously said the five projects’ total funding ambition would reach about €190 billion by 2036. This is an estimate of the scale of long-term investment, not the value of the initial support allocated from the current programme budget.
Project selection stages and approval of the European programme
The project selection process began on 16 February 2026, when the Commission invited member states to submit proposals for joint defence projects. The Commission received nine proposals before presenting a list of five projects on 3 July, after seeking the views of the Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Defence Agency.
The European Union adopted the European Defence Industry Programme in December 2025 with the aim of modernising the defence industrial base, increasing production capacity, supporting joint procurement, and securing technologies, equipment and supply chains.
The programme is expected to fund the initial deployment of the five projects, whose implementation will continue as long-term cooperation frameworks extending beyond the current funding cycle.
