What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Added:Acceleration of permit-granting for defence readiness projects (Omnibus V)

Removed:on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the acceleration of permit-granting for defence readiness projects

Added:Committee on Security and Defence, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Removed:(COM(2025)0821 – C100122/2025 – 2025/0172(COD))

Added:PE781.184

Added:European Parliament legislative resolution of 16 September 2026 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the acceleration of permit-granting for defence readiness projects (COM(2025)0821 – C10-0122/2025 – 2025/0172(COD))

6 unchanged paragraphs

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)0821),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C100122/2025),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 18 September 2025,

Added:– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the responsible committees under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 17 June 2026 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

7 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety,

– having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Security and Defence and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection under Rule 59 of the Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Security and Defence and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A10-0271/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

Removed:Recital 1: (1) The Union is facing an acute and growing threat, as underscored in the Joint White Paper on European Defence Readiness 20302, linked to the return of full-scale conflict in Europe in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the associated hybrid activities targeting the Union and its Member States, including sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation, economic coercion and hostile intelligence operations, as well as repeated violations of EU and NATO airspace, and also an evolving transatlantic security posture. Accordingly, the Union must reinforce its strategic autonomy and resilience. In response to this escalating challenge, it is imperative that the Union takes decisive action to bolster its defence readiness and overall societal resilience, while upholding the Union’s values and democratic principles, taking into account the recommendations identified in high-level reports by Mario Draghi, Sauli Niinistö and Enrico Letta. There is urgency to ramp up European defence readiness to ensure that Europe has a strong and sufficient European defence posture by 2030 at the latest. It is particularly important to close the most critical capability shortfalls, in particular those outlined in the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, ensuring that efforts to close such shortfalls are carried out in coherence and mutual reinforcement with activities carried out within NATO, while avoiding unnecessary duplications.

Added:P10_TC1-COD(2025)0172

Removed:Recital 1 a (new): (1a) Based on projections of gradual take-up of the instruments proposed under the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030, defence investment could reach at least EUR 800bn over the next four years. Such a level of investment also provides an opportunity to develop the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) within the single market, by enabling competitive, innovative and diverse defence technology actors to participate effectively in the EDTIB, while ensuring fair participation in the defence market, including SMEs, and in full compliance with Union and national social, labour, safety and environmental standards. A crucial aspect of this effort is the need to ramp up the Union's defence production capacity, enabling it to respond effectively to emerging security threats. In order to achieve that goal, regulatory simplification and harmonisation are essential in a way that improves efficiency, transparency, and accountability. By streamlining and aligning regulatory frameworks, the Union can create a more conducive environment for defence industries to operate, innovate, and produce the necessary capabilities to ensure European security and defence readiness. At the same time, efforts to promote a coherent approach to standardisation should be encouraged in order to strengthen interoperability and support a more efficient and coordinated development of defence capabilities across the Union.

Added:Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 16 September 2026 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2026/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on the acceleration of permit-granting processes for defence readiness projects

Removed:Recital 2: (2) In this context, defence readiness should be understood as the ability of Member States to anticipate, prevent, and respond to defence related crises, as referred to in Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council3 through a proactive and coordinated approach. This includes ensuring the availability of defence industrial capacity required to acquire and maintain the necessary resources, capabilities, and infrastructure with the aim of responding effectively to such crises. Furthermore, defence readiness should also include broader preparedness, strengthening the resilience of society as a whole, to hybrid threats, disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and other non-military forms of influence. This Regulation should apply solely to projects that contribute to the Union’s and Member States’ defence readiness and abide by the rules governing the internal market to ensure fair competition.

Added:THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Removed:Recital 3: (3) Setting up or extending facilities, infrastructure and undertaking activities related to defence readiness often requires applying for several relevant permits and approvals. Existing permitting processes for assessments across various areas are often lengthy and cumbersome. Small mid-caps and SMEs in particular are disproportionately affected, which has negative consequences for the entire supply chain. Those procedures currently lack Union-wide provisions for fast-track processes specific to defence readiness activities, which impedes the ramp-up of defence production and related infrastructure in a timely manner and defence readiness activities and investments that are crucial for meeting emerging security demands.

Added:Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Removed:Recital 4: (4) The national permit-granting process ensures that defence readiness projects are carried out safely, securely and in full compliance with relevant environmental, social, labour and other safety requirements throughout all stages of the process. Union environmental law sets common conditions for the content of the national permit-granting process, thereby ensuring a high level of environmental protection. In light of the acute threat posed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the accompanying hybrid activities directed against the Union and its Member States, it is essential that the application of Union and national rules enables the rapid and efficient implementation of defence readiness projects, while remaining consistent with the Union’s environmental acquis. This approach would enable the sustainable and responsible development of Europe’s defence industrial and raw materials capacities, while avoiding unnecessary administrative delays that could hinder security preparedness.

Added:Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Removed:Recital 5: (5) The unpredictability, complexity and, often, excessive length of national permit-granting procedures undermine investment security, certainty and planning needed for the effective strengthening of Member States defence readiness and risk discouraging innovative SMEs and small mid-caps from entering into or scaling within the defence sector. The structure and length of a permit-granting process for relevant projects can also differ greatly between Member States. Therefore, to ensure and speed up their effective implementation, Member States should apply streamlined and predictable permit-granting processes to defence readiness projects.

Added:After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Removed:Recital 5 a (new): (5a) Defence readiness projects, including related industrial and governmental activities can, where applicable, fall within the scope of existing Union provisions allowing derogations, including from Union environmental law, on grounds of “overriding public interest”, “public safety” or “crisis” response. Member States can therefore, where so provided under national law, assess on a case-by-case basis whether permit-granting procedures for defence readiness projects can rely on those existing derogations. Any such assessment should be carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in the relevant Union and national law. Where compensatory or mitigating measures are required in the framework of the permit-granting process, they should ensure that the interests of relevant sectors are safeguarded in a proportionate manner, while preserving all obligations and safeguards laid down in the applicable legal frameworks and with a view to the timely achievement of the Defence Readiness 2030 objective.

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

Removed:Recital 6: (6) While certain Member States have taken or are likely to take measures to accelerate the permission-granting processes for the defence industry, this may be done in diverging ways which would result in barriers to the functioning of the internal market in the defence sector. Divergent national legislation, regarding the planning permit-granting process of defence projects have proven to become bottlenecks for European relevant defence products supply chains. To ensure the functioning of the internal market, it is necessary to establish harmonised rules and timelines for the acceleration of the permit-granting processes.

Added:Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Removed:Recital 7 a (new): (7 a) The application of this Regulation should fully respect the sole responsibility of the Member States for safeguarding their national security. Essential functions, including the defence of the territory, the maintenance of law and order and the protection of public security, remain within national competence and are not affected by this Regulation. Member States can maintain or introduce extraordinary national permitting procedures, provided that such measures do not undermine the functioning of the internal market for defence readiness projects within the scope of this Regulation.

Added:Whereas:

Removed:Recital 8: (8) There is a pressing need to reduce the complexity and duration of permitting processes for defence readiness projects, while ensuring that such processes are accessible to mid-caps, small mid-caps and SMEs contributing to the development of new and emerging defence technologies. By establishing national permitting frameworks that prioritise these projects and ensure their rapid processing, the Union aims to enhance its defence production capacity and readiness by 2030 at the latest.

Added:(1) The Union is facing an acute and growing threat, as underscored in the Joint White Paper of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission of 19 March 2025 for European Defence Readiness 2030, linked to the return of full-scale conflict in Europe in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and other hybrid activities targeting the Union and its Member States. It is, therefore, imperative that the Union take decisive action to bolster its defence readiness and overall societal resilience. There is an urgent need to ramp up European defence readiness and close critical capability gaps to ensure that Europe has a strong and sufficient European defence posture by 2030 as underlined by the European Council.

Removed:Recital 8 a (new): (8a) In situations of supply chain crisis, uncertainty can hinder timely decisions and investment planning. Member States are therefore encouraged to publish and periodically update clear, accessible online information on relevant risks and bottlenecks, in line with national security and confidentiality requirements, in order to help companies anticipate and adjust their production, support the efficient allocation of scarce resources to strategically important projects and strengthen the Union’s defence industrial resilience and strategic autonomy.

Added:(2) Setting up or extending facilities and infrastructure and undertaking activities related to defence readiness often require applying for several relevant permits and approvals. Existing permit-granting procedures for assessments across various areas are often lengthy and cumbersome disproportionally affecting small mid-caps and SMEs. Those procedures currently lack Union-wide provisions for accelerated processes specific to defence readiness activities, which impedes the ramp-up of defence production and related infrastructure in a timely manner and defence readiness activities and investments that are crucial for meeting emerging security demands ▌.

Removed:Recital 9: (9) In order to address these challenges, the defence industry should benefit of rules proven to be effective in streamlining industrial permitting processes and boosting innovative defence industrial actors. Aiming to reduce permitting deadlines for defence industry activities, including construction of new plants and related infrastructure, expansion of existing facilities, establishment of testing sites, training, certifying, and research and development, including prototype construction and technology transfer, while also building on and broadening existing applicable provisions. A more agile regulatory framework will free up resources for technological innovation, encourage production modularity and promote the establishment of cross-border consortia that can bridge capacity gaps more quickly.

Added:(3) Permit-granting processes of the Member States for defence readiness projects should be streamlined, while ensuring that such projects are safe, secure, and comply with environmental, social, labour and safety requirements throughout all stages of the process. Union environmental law sets common conditions for the content and process of ▌ national permit-granting ▌ , thereby ensuring a high level of environmental protection and allowing for the sustainable and responsible development of Europe’s defence industrial capacities and raw materials value chain, while avoiding unnecessary administrative delays that could hinder defence readiness. This Regulation does not undermine any obligations arising from other relevant Union legislation.

Removed:Recital 9 a (new): (9a) To ensure that a streamlined permitting process and prioritisation processes cover the whole defence value chain, the concept of the defence industry should include not only undertakings manufacturing defence-related products within the meaning of Directive 2009/43/EC, but also undertakings providing services that directly enhance the defence readiness of one or more Member States. Furthermore, to address the principal bottlenecks in defence investments, the permit-granting process under this Regulation should cover all relevant permissions, including permits, approvals or licences required to build, expand, convert, operate or repurpose installations, equipment or activities for the manufacturing of defence products or components, or for other activities forming part of a defence readiness project. Bringing all such permissions into a single, coordinated and time-bound procedure, from the acknowledgement of the completeness of an application to the notification of the final decision by the single point of contact, reduces fragmentation, shortens procedural timelines and enhances legal certainty.

Added:(4) Complex and lengthy national permit-granting processes, which diverge from one Member State to another, undermine the investment security, certainty and planning needed for economic operators throughout the Union and for the effective strengthening of Member States defence readiness and risk discouraging innovative SMEs and small mid-caps from entering into or scaling within the defence sector. The structure and length of a permit-granting process for relevant projects can also differ greatly between Member States. Therefore, to ensure and accelerate their effective implementation, Member States should apply streamlined and predictable permit-granting processes to defence readiness projects.

Removed:Recital 10 a (new): (10a) Member States should ensure that permitting and assessment procedures required under national law are organised in a coordinated manner that complements those required under Union law, avoiding overlap, duplication and unnecessary administrative delays, while maintaining a high level of environmental protection. Where appropriate, such procedures should be coordinated or combined to provide an efficient, predictable and transparent process for project promoters.

Added:(5) Based on projections of gradual take-up of the instruments proposed under the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030, defence investment could reach at least EUR 800 billion over the next four years. Such a level of investment also provides an opportunity to develop the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) within the internal market, by enabling competitive, innovative and diverse actors in the field of defence technology to participate effectively in the EDTIB, while ensuring fair participation in the defence market, including SMEs, and in full compliance with Union and national social, labour, safety and environmental standards. Regulatory simplification and harmonisation in a manner that improves efficiency, transparency and accountability are therefore essential. By streamlining and aligning regulatory frameworks, the Union can create a more conducive environment for defence industries to operate, innovate and produce the necessary capabilities to ensure European security and defence readiness.

Removed:Recital 10 b (new): (10b) To safeguard trust in the simplification of administrative processes, accelerated procedures and the internal market, Member States should ensure the impartiality of single points of contact and all competent national authorities involved in the permit-granting process, including through maintaining fair-competition and conflict-of-interest principles, transparency of decision-making, publication of non-confidential statistics on permit decisions. Those measures should ensure non-discriminatory access for SMEs and companies of all sizes across the Union. Member States and the Commission should ensure that appropriate measures are in place to prevent, detect, and correct any risk of fraud or corruption.

Added:(6) Defence readiness should be understood as the ability of Member States to anticipate, prevent and respond to defence-related crises, as referred to in Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, ▌ through a proactive and coordinated approach. That approach includes ensuring the availability of defence industrial capacity required to acquire and maintain the necessary resources, capabilities and infrastructure with the aim of responding effectively to such crises.

Removed:Recital 10 c (new): (10c) This Regulation clarifies that, when a project is subject to an environmental impact assessment pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU, the steps (i) and (ii) of the environmental impact assessment timeline should not be included in the duration of the permit-granting process established by this Regulation. This Regulation also requires single points of contact to provide information to project promoters about the requirement to carry out an environmental impact assessment, as well as the scope and level of detail of such assessment.

Added:(7) In light of the obstacles identified, it is appropriate to establish extraordinary measures to accelerate the permit-granting processes for defence readiness projects throughout the Union. Such measures should apply to projects which are identified by Member States as defence readiness projects within the meaning of this Regulation.

Removed:Recital 11: (11) To facilitate the efficient and timely processing of administrative permitting applications related to defence readiness activities and the scaling up of defence production, and supporting mid-caps, small mid-caps and SMEs, Member States need to ensure that the competent national authorities implement fast-track procedures. Those authorities should provide the most rapid legal treatment possible for such applications, thereby enabling timely responses to defence readiness needs. The competent authorities have flexibility to prolong the standard fast-track timeline for the reasons of potential risks to health, safety, the environment, and national security. To ensure that these exceptional circumstances are treated in rigorous and transparent manner, it is essential that competent authorities do not merely assert the existence of exceptional circumstances but substantiate such claims with verifiable evidence.

Added:(8) Defence readiness projects, including related industrial and governmental activities, can, where applicable, fall within the scope of existing provisions of Union law, including in the field of Union environmental law, that allow for derogations on grounds of overriding public interest, public safety or in response to a crisis. Member States can use such derogations where appropriate for purposes of defence readiness activities and investments. In this context, compensatory or mitigating measures that might be required in the framework of the permit-granting process are tools aimed at ensuring that the interests of relevant sectors are safeguarded in a proportionate manner, with a view to the timely achievement of the objective of defence readiness by 2030.

Removed:Recital 11 a (new): (11a) In addition, in order to further accelerate and streamline the permit issuing process, the principle of tacit approval should apply to the application for a permit except where that principle is in contradiction with the existing national legal system of a Member State. Therefore, an application for a permit should be considered granted if the project promoter has not been informed by the single point of contact within the applicable deadline of the outcome of the permit-granting process.

Added:(9) While certain Member States have taken or are likely to take measures to accelerate their permit-granting processes for the defence industry, this could be done in diverging ways which would result in barriers to the functioning of the internal market in the defence sector. Such divergences have become bottlenecks for European supply chains relevant for defence products. To ensure the functioning of the internal market, it is necessary to establish harmonised rules and timelines for the acceleration of the permit-granting processes.

Removed:Recital 11 b (new): (11b) Where a permit for a defence readiness project is implicitly granted, such approval should not exempt the project promoter or the competent authority from full compliance with applicable Union and national law, including provisions on environmental protection and on the health and safety of workers.

Added:(10) While Union institutions can provide guidance and frameworks, the responsibility for authorisation and facilitating accelerated permit-granting processes resides primarily with Member States. Member States are best positioned to implement changes that cater to their specific administrative and regulatory landscapes.

Removed:Recital 12: (12) Establishing one or more single points of contact for industry applications regarding permits related to defence activities. is intended to streamline communication, clarify responsibilities, reduce administrative burdens and further expedite the permitting process with clear and legally binding deadlines, thereby providing efficient pathway for defence-related industrial applications. Moreover, it will provide certainty to investors by ensuring the rapid treatment of permit applications and limiting the risks to investments related to lengthy procedures. Member States should provide their single points of contact, as well as any authority involved in the permit-granting process, with sufficient personnel and resources.