EESC backs AGILE but sets conditions on funding, access and oversight

In an opinion on the Commission’s proposed 'AGILE' programme, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports efforts to speed up defence innovation in the EU but warns that speed must not come at the expense of balanced funding, equal access and democratic scrutiny.

The AGILE aims to enhance the EU’s capacity to deliver defence innovation more rapidly and effectively. This initiative is designed to cut through bureaucracy and help new technologies reach Europe’s armed forces more quickly. This goal has gained urgency since Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed weaknesses in Europe’s readiness and highlighted the need to adapt to evolving threats.

In the opinion, EESC rapporteur Monika Sitarova and co-rapporteur Srita Heide say this objective is necessary, but stress that it comes with important conditions. 

AGILE needs new EU defence funding

First, the Committee warns against simply reshuffling money between existing EU instruments. Instead, it calls for a dedicated and significantly increased budget in the EU’s next long-term financial framework. 

It argues that faster defence innovation requires sustained and targeted investment, not short-term reallocations. Without new funding, the risk is that AGILE becomes a rebranding exercise rather than a genuine acceleration of defence innovation.

Equal access must prevent widening defence gaps

The EESC also highlights long-standing structural imbalances in Europe’s defence industry. A small number of Member States already dominate production and innovation capacity. Funding has traditionally been concentrated in those Member States. 

Without corrective measures, AGILE risks reinforcing these inequalities.

To avoid this, the Committee insists that companies across all Member States should be able to participate on equal terms, with stronger efforts to ensure geographical balance in how EU funds are distributed and wider access to opportunities across the Union.

Third-country access must be tightly controlled

Another concern is who can benefit from EU defence money. 

The opinion calls for stricter eligibility rules to prevent third-country entities, or companies influenced by them, from accessing these funds.  

In a context of growing geopolitical competition, the EESC considers this essential to protecting Europe’s strategic autonomy and ensuring that public investment strengthens the EU’s own industrial capacity.

Oversight must not be weakened by faster procedures

While supporting faster procedures, the Committee stresses that democratic oversight must not be weakened.

Transparency, accountability and oversight, including the role of national parliaments, must remain integral to the programme. Speed, it warns, must not come at the expense of trust.

In this sense, the opinion also calls for strong safeguards to ensure respect for labour rights, quality employment and skills development. Fast-track funding should not result in weaker working conditions or lower social standards either.

SMEs and start-ups must be central to innovation

Despite these concerns, the EESC broadly supports the direction of the AGILE initiative. 

It particularly welcomes the stronger role given to SMEs, start-ups, and civil-tech firms, which are increasingly central to innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber, and space technologies.

These actors, the Committee says, can bring agility and new ideas to a sector that has traditionally been dominated by larger, established players.