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# Ukraine Clears Final Step to Join European Defence Fund
- URL: https://www.adriadefense.com/ukraine-clears-final-step-to-join-european-defence-fund/
- Published: 2026-09-17T06:00:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T06:00:56.000Z
- Description: Ukraine’s parliament has ratified an agreement giving the country access to the European Defence Fund, paving the way for Ukrainian companies to participate in EU-backed defense research and development projects.
- Author: AdriaDefense Desk
- Tags: Ukraine, Industry, European Union, European Defence Fund

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday ratified an agreement with the European Union on the country’s participation in the European Defence Fund (EDF), marking another step toward integrating Ukraine’s defense industry with the wider European industrial base.

The legislation, registered as bill No. 0390, was approved by 312 members of parliament in its first reading and as a whole on September 16\. The agreement itself was signed in Kyiv on July 13.

Under the agreement, Ukrainian defense companies will be able to participate more closely in joint European projects covering defense research, technology development and the development of new defense products.

According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the legislation, Ukraine’s participation is intended to deepen defense-industrial cooperation with the EU while increasing the innovation and manufacturing capacity of the country’s defense sector.

## Opening EU defense programs to Ukrainian industry

The European Defence Fund is the EU’s main instrument for supporting collaborative defense research and development. Rather than financing national procurement programs, the fund is designed to encourage companies and research organizations from participating countries to work together on new technologies and capabilities.

Ukraine’s participation therefore creates another channel through which its rapidly expanding defense technology sector can cooperate with European manufacturers and research organizations.

The move comes as Brussels is pursuing a broader integration of Ukraine’s defense industry into Europe’s industrial ecosystem.

In July, the European Commission and Ukraine launched a new defense industrial partnership alongside an EU-Ukraine initiative focused on drone and counter-drone technologies. The Commission also announced a further €1 billion for Ukrainian drone capabilities under the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan.

At an EU-Ukraine Defence Industry Forum in Kyiv in July, agreements were also signed covering Ukraine’s participation in the EDF and financing under the European Defence Industry Programme. The latter includes the BraveTech EU Ukraine Support Instrument, with around €300 million allocated to support Ukraine’s defense industry.

## Ukraine moves deeper into Europe’s defense industrial base

For European companies, Ukraine’s participation could expand opportunities for partnerships with an industry that has developed rapidly during the war, particularly in areas including unmanned systems, electronic warfare, battlefield software and other technologies developed under operational conditions.

For Ukrainian manufacturers, access to European programs offers a route toward longer-term cooperation with EU companies and research institutions beyond immediate wartime procurement.

The September 16 ratification completes Ukraine’s domestic parliamentary procedure required for the agreement to enter into force.

The decision is part of a wider effort by the EU and Ukraine to bring their defense industries closer together, with joint development, financing and production increasingly becoming part of Europe’s long-term defense industrial strategy.