Future of European Defence & SMEs
Working Lunch at the European Parliament, Brussels from 13:00 to 15:00Welcome and Moderation
Horst HEITZ
Secretary General of SME Europe
Opening
Riho TERRAS MEP
Vice President of SME Europe, Chair EPP SME Defence initiative; Vice-Chair of SEDE Committee
Keynote
Simonas ŠATŪNAS
Head of Cabinet to Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space
Q&A / Debate
Closing
Riho TERRAS MEP
As negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) are under way, the EU faces a critical opportunity to move from fragmented and ad hoc defence industry support towards a coherent, long-term and predictable framework. This expert meeting will examine how the future EU budget and its instruments can better respond to the development needs of the European defence industry — from research and innovation to industrial scale-up, production capacity and supply-chain resilience. The discussion will also focus on how EU funding mechanisms can be streamlined to reduce administrative burden and red tape, ensure timely and effective access to support, and strengthen the role of SMEs in building a resilient, competitive and strategically autonomous European defence industrial base.
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