When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU politicians lined up to demand an urgent rethink of European security. 

In order to protect themselves in an uncertain world, EU countries must reinforce their own defenses and work together far more closely to coordinate their joint security, the bloc’s leaders declared. That includes pooling cash to pay for the weapons Ukraine needs to repel Vladimir Putin’s forces, as well as longer-term measures to overhaul European arms manufacturing. 

Over the past two years the EU has loosed a fusillade of initiatives to meet these aims, all with their own baffling titles. Here, POLITICO spells out the EU’s arsenal of acronyms, and examines whether any will make a difference. 

ASAP — Act in Support of Ammunition Production

What is it? ASAP is an EU regulation, part of a three-step plan agreed by EU leaders in March 2023 to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine within a year. The longer-term goal is to ramp up ammunition production capacity to 2 million shells annually by the end of 2025. 

How much cash? €500 million. The Commission selected 31 projects in 15 countries to receive EU funding; special attention was paid to explosive and propellant powder, one of the main bottlenecks.

Major arms makers such as Germany’s Rheinmetall, France’s Roxel and Thales, Norway’s Nammo and Greece’s Hellenic Defense Systems are getting large slices of the funding, with contracts to be signed in May (our explainer is here).  

Is it working? The acronym reflects a sense of urgency, and EU officials cite it as an example of how the EU process can be quick when needed, as the law was agreed within a few months. The goal of ramping up industrial capacity to 2 million shells by 2025 is currently on track, but the bloc missed its original target of sending 1 million rounds to Ukraine by last month.

EDIRPA — European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act

What is it? EDIRPA is an EU regulation agreed last year to address the bloc’s most urgent defense capability gaps by incentivizing countries to procure weapons jointly. Capitals can be partially reimbursed by the EU budget if they buy military equipment within a consortia of at least three member countries.

The European Commission published EDIRPA's 2024 work program last month as well as calls for proposals on ammunition, on legacy systems and platforms, and on air and missile defense. The deadline to apply is July 25. 

How much cash? Peanuts, like most of the defense initiatives launched by the Commission: €300 million until the end of 2025.  

Is it working? There’s definitely a problem to fix. At €233 billion, EU countries spend almost as much as China on defense, but with massive duplication leading to huge inefficiencies. The European Parliament estimated that if they joined forces, EU countries could save between €24.5 billion and €75.5 billion annually. 

ASAP and EDIRPA are complementary initiatives on the supply and demand side respectively. But it's too early to say whether EDIRPA will work. 

EDA — European Defence Agency

What is it? Created in 2004, the EDA aims to help EU countries strengthen their defense capabilities, to "act as a military interface to EU policies," and to foster joint procurement.

The current chief executive is former Czech Defense Minister Jiří Šedivý. The agency produces documents including — brace yourself for more acronyms — the Capability Development Plan (CDP) to help capitals prioritize which military equipment to focus on, as well as the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD).

How much cash? The EDA has a yearly budget of about €34 million.

Is it working? As capitals are reluctant to defer power when it comes to defense, the EDA's usefulness is sometimes questioned in Brussels corridors. The agency negotiated contracts to provide 1 million 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine, but reports showed that only 60,000 rounds were purchased via the EDA scheme. “Either EDA manages to have a strong role in joint procurements or risks ending up being a think tank,” a senior EU official said.  

EDF — European Defence Fund

What is it? The European Defence Fund was created in 2017 and is one of the first defense-related initiatives at the EU level. It was developed to focus on R&D and boost cross-border cooperation. 

It is operated by the European Commission and provides grants to defense companies gathered in consortia of at least three EU countries — or two if they’re applying for money to develop so-called disruptive technology. 

The fund in March released its fourth work program, with calls for proposals on issues ranging from electric components to advanced air-to-air missiles. The three areas with the largest budget are information superiority (€181 million), air combat (€150 million) and ground combat (€130 million). Companies have until the fall to apply for grants. 

How much cash? The EDF has a budget of nearly €8 billion for the 2021-2027 period, including €1.1 billion for 2024. 

Is it working? Yes and no. The EDF has helped finance R&D and put defense on the map in Brussels. 

But assessments of grant attribution suggest EU money mainly goes to the bloc’s big dogs, such as France’s Thales, Italy’s Leonardo and European consortium Airbus. The Ombudsperson is currently probing the Commission’s processes to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.  

European lawmakers also question how effective the funding is, warning that the EDF finances projects that tend to overlap and duplicate each other. Top Commission officials now want the EDF to go beyond R&D and contribute to Europe’s industrial ramp-up. 

EDIS — European Defence Industrial Strategy

What is it? EDIS is a communication presented by the European Commission in March.

It sets (non-binding) goals for capitals: Brussels wants half of national defense procurement budgets to go to local companies by 2030, rising to 60 percent by 2035. Currently nearly 80 percent of weapons are purchased from foreign contractors, including more than 60 percent from the U.S. 

By 2030, at least 40 percent of military equipment should be purchased jointly by EU countries, the Commission also says.

How much cash? There’s no cash in EDIS, it’s all in EDIP (more on that below). 

Is it working? Time will tell. 

EDIP — European Defence Industry Program 

What is it? EDIP is a regulation presented by the Commission in March that aims to make EDIS a reality. EDIP still needs to be approved by both the Council and the Parliament before it can be launched. 

Among other things, the draft law includes plans to make joint procurement easier as well as rules to ensure security of supply and emergency powers for the Commission to prioritize defense orders over civilian ones in an emergency. 

EDIP is not to be confused with EDIDP, the European Defence Industrial Development Programme, the EDF’s €500 million predecessor, which ran from 2019 to 2020. 

How much cash? EDIP has a budget of €1.5 billion until 2027, although that could grow if the EU decides to raid windfall profits on frozen Russian assets. The budget could be used to build up stocks of weapons for companies to deliver faster to clients, to finance “ever-warm” factories and incentivize joint procurement. The cash pot is open to EU countries, Norway and Ukraine. 

Is it working? The regulation hasn't been adopted yet so it’s too early to say. But it’s clear that €1.5 billion is not enough to make Europe’s defense industry war-ready. Leaders agree more funds are needed, but disagree on where to find the cash.

EPF — European Peace Facility

What is it? It’s an off-budget fund created in March 2021. Its initial focus was to provide funding for military help for operations and countries mainly in Africa, but that was before Russia invaded Ukraine. Its name includes the concept of peace, to reflect the fact that the EU was a peace project. 

How much cash? So far over €17 billion has been financed from outside the EU’s budget for a period of seven years (2021-2027). Around €11 billion has been earmarked to reimburse EU countries, in part for the weapons they’ve sent to Ukraine. 

Is it working?  Yes and no. Yes, because in the end the money does exist, which shows allies such as the U.S. that the EU is acting collectively in a meaningful way. Without the EPF it would have been much harder to partially reimburse member countries for arming Kyiv since the EU budget cannot be used for military operations. 

But also no — because the money is divided into tranches that have to be agreed unanimously, giving countries like Hungary the power to veto payouts. Diplomats also complain the fund is far too bureaucratic.