Vilnius has hosted its first European Defence Fund (EDF) Regional Info Day which brought together academia and industry representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. The event strengthens regional cooperation in the areas of scientific research and experimental development in defence and encourages a more active involvement in the European defence initiatives.
“The Baltic states and Poland face very similar security challenges which make closer cooperation among regional academia and industry in the area of military scientific research a must rather than optional. The matchmaking event of a new format presents regional priorities and offers a platform for networking, this could become a tradition,” said Vice Minister of National Defence Vitalija Zumerienė.
The Defence Materiel Agency under the Ministry of National Defence with partners from Latvia, Estonia andPoland assembled representatives of the academia and business o the region who wish to contribute to development in the sector of defence. A representative of the European Commission delegated to the Info Day presented the EDF Activity Program 2026 and rules of application. Representatives of the industry and the academia were able to network actively seeking partners and development of mutual ideas.
One of the main highlights of the event was identification of common regional priorities and opportunity to develop international Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish defence research and technological advance projects which could strengthen defensive capabilities in the Baltic-Polish region and security of the eastern flank of NATO.
The European Defence Fund is an initiative of the European Union for strengthening the EU’s defence capacity and encourage defence innovation. Its approx. EUR 8 billion budget for 2021–2027 includes EUR 2.7 billion for joint defence research and EUR 5.3 billion for joint capability development projects. The EDF supports cross-border cooperation projects, supports cooperation between small and medium businesses and education institutions for the sake of advanced defence technology development, and contributes to the EU’s strategic autonomy.
