Omnibus on defence

Key points

The EESC:

• stresses the need to provide for oversight mechanisms regarding the application at national level of the proposed adaptations to the regulatory framework;
• recommends strengthening the Regulation on the acceleration of permit-granting;
• recommends that general transfer licences be prioritised and used systematically for all projects financed or coordinated at EU level, and that this system be extended and harmonised across the national systems;
• recommends reviewing the effectiveness of the simplification measures;
• recommends that the possibility for Member States to authorise national exemptions for chemical substances ‘in the interests of defence’ be subject to appropriate environmental verification and compatibility procedures;
• recommends making the operation of the European Defence Fund more flexible and transparent;
• recommends that interpretative clarifications for instruments such as InvestEU and the sustainable finance framework be provided and that the procedures be simplified and the confidentiality of sensitive information protected;
• recommends that the Commission coordinate and oversee the establishment of academies, centres of expertise and excellence, mobility and Erasmus+ programmes focused on the defence industry.