European Defence Industry Programme
EU regulation and €1.5bn fund for joint defence production, procurement and Ukraine's arms industry, 2025-2027.
On 28 September, the European Defence Industry Programme backed five joint defence projects, including DECODER. The €1.5bn EU fund runs from 2025 to 2027 and aims to expand shared European production capacity.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Can a €1.5bn EU fund get Europe's capitals to build weapons together?
Timeline for European Defence Industry Programme
Reserved €325m for the five projects
Drones: Industry & Defence: EU picks DECODER drone project for EDIPBackground
The European Defence Industry Programme is an EU regulation and funding programme for joint defence production, procurement cooperation and Ukraine's defence industry. Its 2025-2027 mandate makes it a vehicle for directing EU support towards industrial capacity rather than a permanent military procurement body.
The programme combines a €1.2bn main envelope with a €300m Ukraine Support Instrument. It seeks to make national defence spending more compatible across participating states by supporting common procurement and industrial reinforcement. Its relevance rests on whether EU co-funding can encourage capitals and manufacturers to build compatible capacity at scale.
On 28 September, EU ministers selected five common-interest projects eligible for programme support, including the DECODER drone and counter-drone project. Ukraine participated in four of the five projects, showing how the programme links European industrial policy with Ukrainian defence production.
What is the European Defence Industry Programme?
How much money is in EDIP?
When was EDIP adopted?
Which projects has EDIP chosen as projects of common interest?
