Recital 1

(1)As indicated in the Joint White Paper European Defence – Readiness 2030 ² , boosting public investment in defence is indispensable, but it would not be sufficient. Undertakings established in the Union, including small and medium enterprises and mid-caps should have better access to capital, including guarantee instruments for de-risking investments, to bring their solutions to industrial scale and to drive the industrial ramp-up that the Union needs. Although the financial sector shows a growing interest in defence, it, the defence sector remains an under-served market due to limitations in investment policies of public and private financial institutions. The Joint White Paper sets out a defence package providing financial levers to Member States to drive an investment surge in defence capabilities. Making business easier and deepening the Single Market are among the package’s key goals. On 6 March 2025, the European Council called upon the Commission to swiftly take work forward on simplifying the legal and administrative framework, for public procurement, industry cooperation, permitting and reporting requirements, to address all obstacles and bottlenecks hindering a rapid ramping up of the defence industry, including for SMEs and mid-caps.