Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries

Summary:

Communication published by the European Commission on 22 February 2021, setting out an Action Plan to take advantage of the technologies at the interface between defence, space and civil uses.

Further information:

This Action Plan - also know as the Three-Point Belt Plan - lays the ground to deliver policy actions under three headline objectives:

• Enhancing complementarity between relevant EU programmes and instruments (synergies);
• Promoting that EU funding for research and development has economic and technological dividends for EU citizens (spin-offs);
• Facilitating the use of civil industry research achievements and civil-driven innovation in European defence cooperation projects (spin-ins).

While the remit of this Action Plan is limited to EU programmes and instruments, promoting synergies at EU-level may trigger similar actions at national and regional level including through national co-funding of EU projects, thereby multiplying the expected positive effect.

The need for an Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries was first highlighted in the Commission's Industrial Strategy for Europe.

Official

European Commission: Press Release, 22/02/2021: EU industry: Commission takes action to improve synergies between civil, defence and space industries https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_651

European Commission: Questions and Answers: Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries (22 February 2021) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_652

European Commission: Speech by Executive Vice-President Vestager at the press conference on the Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries (22 February 2021) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_21_743

Commission Européenne: Discours du commissaire Breton à la conférence de presse sur le plan d'action sur les synergies entre les industries civile, spatiale et de la défense (22 février 2021) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_21_744

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