Programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation – AGILE

Key Points

The EESC:

• supports efforts to improve the speed, responsiveness and innovation capacity of the European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB) in light of the evolving security environment, and therefore welcomes the Commission’s proposed AGILE defence framework;
• welcomes AGILE as a platform for SMEs, start-ups, civil-tech firms and entrepreneurs to deliver high-quality, rapid solutions to EU defence readiness. The EESC underlines the important role of new defence players in the transformation of the EU defence industry; 
• underlines that acceleration must not come at the expense of transparency, accountability and democratic scrutiny, which remain essential for the legitimacy and effectiveness of EU action;
• calls for AGILE funds to be additional to existing EU defence programmes. The EESC recommends to substantially increase the budget of this instrument in the next MFF period based on the outcome of the evaluation of the pilot programme; 
• recommends inserting provisions to ensure that AGILE outreach, selection and evaluation processes proactively involve innovative SMEs, start-ups and single companies from all Member States and sectors, with a view to strengthening geographical balance and inclusiveness across the Union;
• recommends the introduction of robust and enforceable measures to ensure effective compliance with Article 9(5) on eligibility. In order to safeguard the Union’s strategic autonomy and security interests, this article should explicitly clarify and tighten exclusion criteria;
• recommends that AGILE projects should be firmly driven by clearly identified defence capability requirements and closely aligned with end-user needs; stresses that AGILE projects should have access to real-world testing environments, including military exercises and testing grounds, in order to validate solutions under operational conditions and accelerate their uptake;
• recommends that respect for EU labour, social and environmental legislation be explicitly embedded in the implementation of AGILE. The EESC underlines that participation in the AGILE programme should be conditioned on commitments to skills development, quality employment and full respect for workers’ rights, in line with the European social model.