As the EU Parliament’s first plenary session of the new season kicked off on Tuesday, September 12th, MEPs overwhelmingly backed a high-profile piece of regulation—the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA).
530 voted in favour, 66 against, and 32 abstained.
The financial instrument, which would draw on a €300 million budget (considerably less than the €500 million originally proposed by the European Commission) until the end of 2025, would “boost the European defence industry” and allow member states to “address their most urgent and critical defence needs, especially those which have been exacerbated by the transfer of defence products to Ukraine.”
If at least three EU Member States sign up for such a procurement, up to 15% or 20% of the total cost would receive EU financing if European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are involved.
According to an EU Parliament press release, defence contractors and subcontractors “must be established in the EU or in an associated country, and not be subject to control by a non-associated third country or entity.”
The instrument, while boosting Europe’s defence capabilities as well as its domestic weapons industry, would also “allow more support to Ukraine and Moldova”—both non-EU member states.
Following the vote, German conservative MEP and co-rapporteur for the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael Gahler (EPP)—rather ostentatiously dressed in a yellow shirt and blue tie to show his allegiance—said it marked
a historic moment for EU defence, establishing the first EU instrument for joint procurement by member states. It will help them to refill their stocks, increase interoperability among our armed forces, strengthen our industry and contribute to our unwavering support for Ukraine.
“However,” he added, “facing a historical crisis, EDIRPA can only be a starting point for a far more ambitious common defence agenda.”
Last June, Gahler said that “If Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine taught us one thing, it is that we are not prepared to defend ourselves. We can no longer afford to ignore that and we need to remedy that situation together as we should have done already much earlier.”
According to co-rapporteur for the Industry, Research and Energy Committee Zdzislaw Krasnodębski (ECR), EDIRPA would be “complementary” to the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), which saw approval in early June.
During the customary debate the day before the vote, most MEPs—even though they cited a lack of resources and that it should be more of a stepping stone to grander initiatives—openly voiced support for EDIRPA.
Some MEPs, primarily belonging to the ID and The Left groups, however, raised concerns about the trajectory the EU would be on.
Jean-Lin Lacapelle (ID) warned that EDIRPA was
Openly leading to a massive arming of Ukraine, ignoring a way to come out of this terrible conflict by negotiations. We need to find other ways out, otherwise the conflict could extend to the Europeans and we would all be in danger.
Irish MEP Mick Wallace (The Left), noted that with the €300 million provided in EDIRPA, in addition to the €500 million in ASAP, the arms industry and its lobbyists (whom he labelled “merchants of death”) “have much to celebrate,” as “the war grinds on, killing hundreds of thousands and wiping out a generation of Ukrainian men.”
Decrying the EU’s subsidising of the arms industry as well as its seeming lack of willingness to enter into peace talks, he concluded:
How many dead civilians and soldiers will it take before we stop fuelling the mayhem? Is there a limit, or is it really just a case of profit before people?
Clare Daly (The Left) termed EDIRPA “the latest in a barrage of new defence splurges, on top of the billions we are already blowing on military research and production.”
“The priorities could not be clearer,” she added.
Working people have to tighten their belts, but as the Act shows once more, there is always money in the bank for bombs and bullets. If it’s more shells and missiles and cluster munitions and depleted uranium, money is no object.
We can always come up with a couple of billion so working-class people over here can go over and kill working-class people over there … We reject a Europe that robs from the poor to boost the profits of the arms industry. Militarisation is never the answer.”
In order for EDIRPA to become law, only approval from the Council—a mere formality—is required.
