The European Union’s defence policy has always been on the margins of the defence industry’s interest. With the emergence of the European Defence Fund (EDF), that has been set up in light of the changing geopolitical situation, the industry’s attention is turning towards Brussels. The aim of the new fund is to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy in defence. The EDF is a more generous successor of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP). From 2021 to 2027, the EDF will off er annually approx. EUR 1 billion to companies in the EU Member States.
The Belgian consultancy with Czech roots Nemec + Chvatal (N+C) is specialized in the EDF advisory. The company represents interests of private companies vis-à-vis the European institutions: “Next to healthcare and environment, defence is one of the main pillars of our activities,” explains one of the founding partners of N+C, Mr Vojtěch Němec.
According to Němec, the EDF represents a major opportunity for the Czech industry: “Companies must form multi-member consortia when applying to the EDF. Larger and quality consortia have a better chance to succeed. That is the reason why the foreign partners want to cooperate with companies from the Czech Republic and other Central and Eastern European countries,” adds Němec.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, N+C organized the fi rst educational seminar for Czech companies in February 2021 to raise awareness of the EDF. Other events will follow in the course of 2021.
text: Vojtech Nemec
