EU to increase innovation synergies between civil, defense and space industries

Brussels, Belgium | THE INDEPENDENT |  The European Commission hopes to boost technological innovation in the European Union (EU) by improving synergies between civil, defense and space industries, senior EU officials said on Monday.

Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager and European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton presented an action plan on synergies between civil, defense and space industries during a press conference.

Supported by EU defense fund, the action plan is also expected to increase spin-offs and spin-ins, meaning that it will optimize the benefits the technologies from defense and space industries have on civilian innovations and vice versa.

Eleven targeted actions were announced, among them three flagship projects focusing on drone technologies, space-based security connectivity and space traffic management.

For the first time, EU funding presents opportunities to reinforce European innovation by exploring and exploiting the disruptive potential of technologies at the interface between defense, space and civil uses, such as cloud, processors, cyber, quantum and artificial intelligence, the commission said in a statement.

“This action plan is a systematic and methodological approach to synergies in critical technologies across the three worlds. The idea is for innovations to systematically reach multiple uses by design. And to allow tapping into the huge innovation potential of researchers and start-ups,” said Vestagher.

The increased size of investments in technologies of civil, defense or space application can help Europe maintain its industrial base, respond to the geopolitical competition, and strengthen its technological sovereignty, according to the European Commission.

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