Simplifying EU rules for defence and sensitive security procurement

The Defence and Sensitive Security Procurement Directive (Directive 2009/81/EC) was adopted in 2009 and evaluated by the Commission in 2016 and by the European Parliament in 2020. 

To best address existing issues in implementation and the evolving needs, the Defence Readiness Roadmap of October 2025 announced the upcoming revision of the legal framework. 

This initiative is distinct from the revision of the public procurement directives (other sectors than defence), which is run in parallel.

What are the aims of this revision?

Despite targeted amendments of the Directive proposed through the June 2025 Defence Readiness Omnibus, it is necessary to assess further potential to strengthen the efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness of the EU defence procurement framework, through different possible options, contributing to the establishment of a genuine Single Market for defence products and services. The overarching goal is to ensure that Member States can procure defence and sensitive security equipment in a fast, cost-efficient, and coordinated manner, while supporting the resilience and technological autonomy of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).

How to contribute?

DG DEFIS ensures an inclusive approach towards all stakeholders, and as part of it, a call for evidence and public consultation have been launched on the Have your Say portal on 24^th of November 2025 to invite the public to submit their input, research or position papers until 16^th of February 2026. All interested EU citizens and actors can provide comments in the Have your say portal and can also submit written contributions. A report on the public consultation will be published consequently.

Access the call for evidence 

Since all replies to the public consultations will be made automatically public (with anonymity upon request), should you want to share confidential and/or sensitive information, you can send those points directly to DG DEFIS, defis-simplificationec [dot] europa [dot] eu (defis-simplification[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu), who will duly protect them and won’t be further shared.