The Council of the European Union has given final approval to a three-part package intended to simplify rules affecting defence procurement, investment, permits and transfers of defence-related products between EU member states. The laws form the fifth package in the bloc’s simplification programme, known as Omnibus V, and concern both defence readiness and the operation of the European defence industry.
The approval was given on 9 October. The legislation had not yet entered into force when the Council announced its decision: the acts were due to be published in the EU’s Official Journal in the following days and are set to take effect on the twentieth day after publication. Their practical effects will therefore depend on that publication and, where relevant, implementation by national authorities.
Three laws cover different parts of the system
The package comprises two regulations and a directive. One regulation addresses defence readiness, investment and conditions for the defence industry. A second establishes a framework to accelerate permits for projects linked to defence readiness. The directive changes rules on security and defence procurement and on transfers of defence-related products within the EU.
The first regulation changes aspects of how the European Defence Fund is managed and implemented. It reduces administrative requirements for applications and is intended to make the fund’s operation more predictable. The legislation also increases the funding-rate bonus for projects involving small and medium-sized enterprises. European public bodies, including the European Defence Agency, remain able to act as central purchasing bodies.
The rules also clarify how EU environmental and chemicals legislation applies to defence-readiness activity. The regulation’s stated aim is to maintain a high level of protection for human health and the environment while amending provisions on exemptions available for certain uses of chemical substances connected with defence readiness. The changes do not remove that health and environmental protection objective.
Permit timetable includes exceptions
The permit regulation sets a harmonised framework for defence-readiness projects and a maximum period of 102 working days for the permit-granting process. If the responsible authority has not made a decision by the end of that period, a request would be tacitly approved under the framework.
That mechanism is not unconditional. The legislation allows national law to provide for exceptions where there is a grave risk to human health or national security, and the framework is described as safeguarding member states’ competences. The deadline is a rule set by the legislation; it is not evidence that every permit will be issued within that time or that approval will be automatic in every case.
For procurement, the directive raises thresholds under the EU’s defence procurement rules. The change is intended to reduce administrative burdens and allow public authorities to concentrate on major defence projects. It also permits occasional joint procurement, introduces a de minimis rule for contract modifications and provides more flexibility in the use of framework agreements.
New routes for transfers within the EU
The directive introduces two mandatory general transfer licences. One covers transfers between certified suppliers and certified recipients; the other applies to transfers made within an intra-EU industrial partnership. The stated purpose is to facilitate movement of defence-related products within the Union and strengthen cooperation between member states and industry.
The package is intended to reduce administrative delays in procurement, permitting, reporting and cross-border cooperation. These are policy aims rather than measured results: the approved acts do not establish how much time or money the changes will ultimately save, or how quickly businesses and public authorities will see an effect.
Omnibus V sits within a wider EU effort to simplify existing legislation. The European Council called for this work to be taken forward as a priority in October 2024, and the European Commission has proposed 12 omnibus packages since February 2025. The defence package focuses on rules linked to readiness, industrial capacity and cooperation across the EU.
The final approval settles the Council’s part in adopting the three acts. The immediate next step is publication in the Official Journal, after which the stated 20-day period before entry into force begins. Until then, the provisions should be understood as approved legislation awaiting that formal publication and commencement, not as changes already in effect.
