On October 6, the European Parliament approved the creation of a new €115 million AGILE defence innovation programme. It is intended to help small and medium-sized businesses, including start-ups and scale-ups, develop, test and bring new defence technologies to market more quickly.
536 MEPs voted for the program during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, reports a Babel correspondent.
In July, Babel, citing its own sources in the European Parliament, wrote that Ukraine would be integrated into this program. According to the source, Kyiv would not pay any entry fees, and Ukrainian developers would be able to use AGILE capabilities. In addition, a Babel correspondent reviewed the text of the draft law.
The program will also create a special RAZOM mechanism. Thanks to it, any weapon or technology financed under AGILE and certified by the European Commission will immediately become available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The purchases will be financed with an EU loan of €60 billion.
The program now needs to be formally approved by the EU Council. After that, the regulation will undergo legal review and enter into force. AGILE is due to start operating in early 2027.
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