European Defence Fund opportunities
The European Defence Fund (EDF) was established by Regulation 2021/697 adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the 29 April 2021. With total funding of EUR 7.953 billion, facility supporting collaborative defence initiatives will operate for the period from 2021 to 2027.
EDF is implemented through annual work programmes (WP) that are developed and approved to give EU member state companies an opportunity to submit their cross-border industrial cooperation project proposals to the European Commission for evaluation. Each year member states also approve the indicative Multiannual Perspective, which sets out the potential medium-term project themes.
In general, the objectives of EDF are based on those of European Defence Industry Development Programme (EDIDP) and Preparatory Action for Defence Research (PADR) - to foster the competitiveness and innovativeness of the European defence technological and industrial base thereby contributing to the EU's strategic autonomy. Funding allocated to projects for development of innovative defence technologies is expected to lead to new cross-border industrial partnerships and closer involvement of researchers in defence sector developments.
Ministry of Defence (MoD), which formulates Latvia’s national position, believes that Latvia could be successful in supporting small and medium size enterprises through EDF to enable them to become innovation drivers that ensure competitive balance on the EU single market while also integrating SMEs in supply chains supported by cross-border partnerships to gain access to wider opportunities for development of new European defence industry products.
Funding will be available for development of new innovative products and technologies, as well as upgrading the existing products and technologies. EDF will specifically target disruptive innovations and up to 8% of available funding will be invested in ground-breaking technologies and innovative instruments.
According to EDF Regulation, research projects will receive 100% of necessary funding from EDF’s budget, whereas activities such as testing, qualification and certification conducted in scope of development projects will receive less funding compared to EDIDP or 80% of eligible costs.
Latest information about EDF 2025 Work Programme:
The European Commission (EC) has approved and published the EDF Work Programme 2025 (WP2025). WP2025 foresees 28 new project themes, as well as three open call categories (in the areas of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ground-breaking research) for research and development. The deadline for submitting new project proposals to the EC is 16 October 2025.
The full Work Programme package can be found here.
A presentation by the Defence Industry and Innovation Policy Department of the MoD on the EDF updates, which includes an explanation of the MoD's R&D priorities, can be found in Annex: Related documents.
Additional information includes:
- The general section of the EDF WP2025 package published by the EC, as well as the detailed descriptions of the project topics;
- The EDF Multiannual Perspective Indicative Outline document published by the EC (the document gives an indication of the possible directions of cooperation in a multiannual perspective. The EDF Multiannual Perspective is updated and updated annually).
Calls for proposals are published on the ‘Funding & Tenders portal’ section of the EC website - see here.
The EC's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) organises the annual EDF Information Days for EU Member States' industries from 2-3 April 2025. Information on this event, as well as a link to register for the event, can be found here.
We invite interested Latvian industry and research institutions to participate in the event to gain a better understanding of the requirements for participation in EDF projects and to benefit from the networking opportunities offered by the EC.
The network of EDF National Contact Points in the Member States can also be used to find cooperation partners. Information on the network of EED National Contact Points in the Member States can be found here.
Contact details:
To learn more about the EDF or enquire about eligibility of specific defence industry products with EDF funding criteria, please contact Logistics and Defence Investments Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence via e-mail: edf@mod.gov.lv
To access more information about national EDF focal points in the EU, click here.