TITLE IV

The Fund shall be implemented by means of annual work programmes as referred to in Article 110(2) of the Financial Regulation. Work programmes shall set out, where applicable, the overall amount reserved for blending operations. Work programmes shall set out the overall budget benefiting the cross-border participation of SMEs. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt the work programmes referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(2). The work programmes shall set out in detail the research topics and the categories of actions to be supported by the Fund. Those categories shall be in line with the defence priorities referred to in Article 3. With the exception of the part of the work programme dedicated to disruptive technologies for defence, the research topics and categories of actions referred to in the first subparagraph shall cover defence products and technologies in the fields of: preparation, protection, deployment and sustainability; information management and superiority, and command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), cyber defence and cybersecurity; and engagement and effectors. The work programmes shall contain functional requirements where appropriate and shall specify the form of Union funding under Article 8, while not preventing competition at the level of calls for proposals. The transition of results of research actions demonstrating added value already supported by the Fund into the development phase may also be taken into consideration in the work programmes. Where a project manager is appointed, the Commission shall consult the project manager on progress made with regard to the action before the payment is executed. The Commission shall appoint independent experts to assist in the ethics screening and assessment as referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation and in the evaluation of proposals pursuant to Article 237 of the Financial Regulation. The independent experts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be nationals of as broad a range of Member States as possible and shall be selected on the basis of calls for expressions of interest addressed to ministries of defence and subordinated agencies, other relevant governmental bodies, research institutes, universities, business associations or enterprises of the defence sector with a view to establishing a list of independent experts. By way of derogation from Article 237 of the Financial Regulation, the list of independent experts shall not be made public. The security credentials of appointed independent experts shall be validated by the relevant Member State. The committee referred to in Article 34 shall be informed of the list of independent experts, in order to be transparent as to their security credentials, on an annual basis. The Commission shall ensure that independent experts do not evaluate, advise or assist on matters with regard to which they have any conflicts of interest. The independent experts shall be chosen on the basis of their skills, experience and knowledge relevant to the tasks to be assigned to them. Within the scope of this Regulation: each Member State shall ensure that it offers a degree of protection of EU classified information equivalent to that provided by the security rules of the Council set out in Council Decision 2013/488/EU Council Decision 2013/488/EU of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1). ; the Commission shall protect classified information in accordance with the security rules set out in Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444; natural persons who are resident in and legal persons that are established in a third country may handle EU classified information regarding the Fund only where they are subject, in those countries, to security regulations ensuring a degree of protection at least equivalent to that provided by the security rules of the Commission and of the Council, as set out in Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 and Decision 2013/488/EU, respectively; the equivalence of the security regulations applied in a third country or by an international organisation shall be laid down in a security of information agreement, including industrial security matters if relevant, concluded or to be concluded between the Union and that third country or international organisation in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 218 TFEU and taking into account Article 13 of Decision 2013/488/EU; and without prejudice to Article 13 of Decision 2013/488/EU and to the rules governing the field of industrial security set out in Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, a natural or legal person, third country or international organisation may be given access to EU classified information where considered to be necessary on a case-by-case basis, according to the nature and content of such information, the recipient’s need to know and the degree of advantage to the Union. When actions involve, require or contain classified information, the relevant funding body shall specify in the documents concerning the call for proposals or tenders the measures and requirements necessary to ensure the security of such information at the requisite level. The Commission shall set up a secured exchange system in order to facilitate the exchange of sensitive information, including classified information, between the Commission and the Member States and associated countries and, where appropriate, with the applicants and the recipients. That system shall take into account the Member States’ national security regulations. The originatorship of classified foreground information generated in carrying out a research or development action shall be decided upon by the Member States on whose territory the recipients are established. To that end, those Member States may decide on a specific security framework for the protection and handling of classified information relating to the action and shall inform the Commission thereof. Such a security framework shall be without prejudice to the possibility for the Commission to have access to the necessary information for carrying out the research or development action. If no such specific security framework is set up by those Member States, the Commission shall set up the security framework for the action in accordance with the Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444. The applicable security framework for the action shall in any event be put in place before the signature of the funding agreement or the contract. Indicators to report on the progress of the Fund towards the achievement of the specific objectives laid down in Article 3(2) are set out in the Annex. To ensure the effective assessment of the Fund’s progress towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 33, to amend the Annex with regard to the indicators where considered to be necessary as well as to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the Fund on a regular basis and shall report annually on progress made, including how lessons identified and lessons learned from the EDIDP and the PADR are taken into account in the implementation of the Fund, to the European Parliament and to the Council. To that end, the Commission shall put in place necessary monitoring arrangements. The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring the implementation and the results of the Fund are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on recipients of Union funds and, where appropriate, on Member States. Evaluations of the Fund shall be carried out to feed into the decision-making process in a timely manner. The interim evaluation of the Fund shall be carried out once there is sufficient information available about its implementation, but no later than four years after the start of the implementation period of the Fund. The interim evaluation report covering the period until 31 July 2024, shall include in particular: an assessment of the governance of the Fund, including as regards: the provisions related to independent experts; the implementation of the ethics procedures set out to in Article 7 of this Regulation; the lessons learned from the EDIDP and the PADR; the implementation rates; the project award results, including the level of involvement of SMEs and mid-caps and the degree of their cross-border participation; the rates of reimbursement of indirect costs as set out in Article 15 of this Regulation; the amounts allocated to disruptive technologies for defence in calls for proposals; and funding granted in accordance with Article 195 of the Financial Regulation. The interim evaluation shall also contain information on the countries of origin of the recipients, the number of countries involved in individual projects and, where possible, the distribution of the generated IPRs. The Commission may submit proposals for any appropriate amendments to this Regulation. At the end of the implementation period but no later than 31 December 2031, the Commission shall carry out a final evaluation and prepare a report on the implementation of the Fund. The final evaluation report shall: include the results of the implementation and, to the extent possible, the impact of the Fund; build on relevant consultations of Member States and associated countries and key stakeholders and shall in particular assess progress made towards the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3; help to identify where the Union is dependent on third countries for the development of defence products and technologies; analyse cross-border participation, including of SMEs and mid-caps, in actions carried out under the Fund as well as the integration of SMEs and mid-caps in the global value chain and the contribution of the Fund to addressing the shortfalls identified in the CDP; and contain information on the countries of origin of the recipients and, where possible, the distribution of the generated IPRs. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations, accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions. Audits on the use of the Union contribution carried out by persons or entities, including by other than those mandated by the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, shall form the basis of the overall assurance pursuant to Article 127 of the Financial Regulation. The Court of Auditors shall examine the accounts of all revenue and expenditure of the Union in accordance with Article 287 TFEU. Where a third country participates in the Fund by means of a decision adopted pursuant to an international agreement or on the basis of any other legal instrument, the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required for the authorising officer responsible, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to comprehensively exercise their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin of those funds and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public. The funding or financing agreement shall contain provisions regulating the possibility to publish academic papers based on the results of research actions. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Fund, to actions taken pursuant to the Fund and to the results obtained. Financial resources allocated to the Fund shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3. Financial resources allocated to the Fund may also contribute to the organisation of dissemination activities, match-making events and awareness-raising activities, in particular aiming at opening up supply chains to foster the cross-border participation of SMEs.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.