Asela Pintado
The European People’s Party (EPP) Coordinator in the European Parliament’s Security and Defence Subcommittee outlined in Cartagena the four principles that should guide the integration of SMEs and regions into Europe’s defence industry. The European Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament have forged an unprecedented institutional partnership.
The construction of the European Defence Union will not be decided solely in Brussels. That was the political message that emerged on 16 June in Cartagena, where the European Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) Working Group on Defence held its first-ever meeting outside the EU capital and established an unprecedented rapprochement with the European Parliament. At the centre of this initiative was MEP Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, Coordinator of the European People’s Party Group in the Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) and the only Spanish member of that body.
Against the backdrop of a fragmented European defence market dominated by large national champions, Pascual de la Parte argued that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Europe’s regions must be fully integrated into the EU’s defence technological and industrial base. To that end, he outlined a clear roadmap built around four guiding principles.
Pascual de la Parte’s Four Principles
Internationalisation. SMEs should develop joint projects with companies from two or more European countries in order to benefit from EU funding instruments—including EDIP, SAFE, the European Defence Fund, and the future Multiannual Financial Framework—aimed at developing genuinely European military capabilities and dual-use technologies.
Integration. Smaller companies should be incorporated into defence production value chains under the leadership of major national industrial players, enabling them to progress from the start-up phase to scale-up status.
Specialisation. SMEs should focus on areas of excellence where they can best leverage their flexibility and innovative capacity—competitive advantages that larger industrial groups are not always able to match.
Collaboration. Public-private partnerships should be encouraged, mobilising financing from banks and private financial institutions to leverage public investment.
“SMEs are more agile than large industrial groups and are often better placed to explore disruptive innovation and dual-use applications,” the MEP stressed. He sees these companies as a key component of Europe’s strategic autonomy at a time marked by Russia’s war against Ukraine, growing geopolitical instability, and increasingly fragile supply chains.
An Institutional Alliance Between Parliament and the Regions
The initiative carries significant political weight. Pascual de la Parte’s intervention directly linked the European Parliament’s legislative work with that of regional authorities at a crucial moment, as the EU prepares its next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034 and designs the major funding instruments that will underpin its defence ambitions.
The CoR Working Group itself, chaired by the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras (EPP/ES), called for regions to have a meaningful role in shaping European defence policy. From the SEDE Subcommittee, Arnoldas Abramavičius (EPP/LT) formally advocated institutionalising cooperation between the Committee of the Regions and the parliamentary committee through joint initiatives.
This convergence is no coincidence. Regions bring to the equation what the EU level often lacks: direct links to industrial clusters, research centres, and supply chains where defence SMEs actually operate. The European Parliament, in turn, provides the legislative and budgetary leverage. The Cartagena meeting marked the first serious effort to align these two dimensions.
Representing the European Commission, Pablo Fernández Cras (DG DEFIS) acknowledged the financing challenges faced by defence SMEs and indicated that the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework has been designed to address many of these obstacles, reinforcing the relevance of the approach advocated by Pascual de la Parte.
Murcia as a Testing Ground
The choice of venue reflected the message itself. Cartagena is one of Europe’s leading naval and defence hubs, while the Region of Murcia showcased its CAETRA programme—funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)—as a model for supporting dual-use defence companies and start-ups.
Companies including CISO, THALANOR Dynamics and HERJIMAR presented solutions in underwater systems, drones, counter-drone technologies and artificial intelligence. The programme concluded with a visit to Navantia’s shipyard in Cartagena.
The broader message conveyed by Pascual de la Parte was strategic in nature: a Europe capable of defending itself must mobilise not only its major industrial champions, but also its network of SMEs and its regions. In his view, the Defence Union will be only as strong as the foundations on which it is built. The Committee of the Regions’ Working Group on Defence will resume discussions on the matter this autumn in Brussels.