This article is part of a series on
Politics of the European Union
Member states (27)  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Candidate countries Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia Moldova Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Ukraine Countries with suspended accession negotiations Turkey Applicant countries Kosovo Special territories Belgium–Germany relations France–Germany relations Germany–Netherlands relations EU 3 Withdrawal from the European Union
Treaties and Declarations Schuman Declaration (1950) Treaty of Paris (1951) Europe Declaration (1951) Spaak Report (1956) Treaty of Rome (1957) Euratom Treaty (1957) Merger Treaty (1965) Solemn Declaration (1983) Single European Act (1986) Maastricht Treaty (1992) Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) Treaty of Nice (2001) Berlin Declaration (2007) Treaty of Lisbon (2007) Article 7 Article 50 Opt-outs Treaties of accession 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011 Treaties of succession 1984, 2020 Other treaties Schengen Agreement (1985) European Economic Area Agreement (1992) Abandoned treaties and agreements European Constitution (2004) UK membership renegotiation (2015–2016)
Executive institutions European Council President: Costa (PES) Parties List of meetings European Commission Von der Leyen Commission President: Von der Leyen (EPP) Vice Presidents College of Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General: Juhansone
Legislative institutions Legislative procedure Council of the EU Presidency Hungary (July–December 2024) Configurations GAC FAC ECOFIN Eurogroup AGRIFISH EPSCO COMPET TTE ENVI JHA EYC Voting Secretariat Secretary-General: Thérèse Blanchet Directorates-general Council preparatory bodies COREPER Council Working Parties European Parliament (Members) President: Metsola Largest groups EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Iratxe García) Member of the European Parliament 10th session (2024–2029) Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference National parliaments
Judicial institutions Court of Justice of the EU European Court of Justice Members Advocates General Rulings General Court
Auditory institutions European Court of Auditors European Court of Auditors Other auditory bodies Internal Audit Service of the Commission Committee on Budgetary Control of the Parliament Economic and Financial Affairs configuration of the Council Anti-Fraud Office Public Prosecutor's Office
European Central Bank President Lagarde ESCB EMU Euro banknotes Euro coins
Other bodies European Investment Bank Group Investment Bank Investment Fund EIB Institute European Stability Mechanism European Stability Mechanism European University Institute European University Institute Unified Patent Court Unified Patent Court Agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings Decentralised agencies of the EU Single market agencies CFSP agencies AFSC agencies ESFS European Supervisory Authorities SRM bodies Executive agencies of the EU Euratom agencies Decentralised independent bodies of the EU European Institute of Innovation and Technology European Public Prosecutor's Office Corporate bodies of the EU European Data Protection Board Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations Joint undertakings of the EU of the Euratom Other independent bodies European Data Protection Supervisor European Ombudsman Advisory bodies European Committee of the Regions European Economic and Social Committee Political and Security Committee European Union Military Committee EU/ESA Space Council Inter-institutional bodies Publications Office of the European Union European External Action Service European Personnel Selection Office Anti-Fraud Office European Administrative School
Euratom Euratom members  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Associated states  Switzerland  United Kingdom Nuclear power in the European Union
Economic and Monetary Union Eurozone members Austria Belgium Croatia Cyprus Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe Other currencies in use Bulgarian lev Czech koruna Danish krone Hungarian forint Polish złoty Romanian leu Swedish krona ERM II Enlargement of the eurozone Non Euro countries relationship to Euro Bulgaria Czechia Denmark Hungary Poland Sweden Romania
Schengen Area  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Non-EU members  Iceland  Liechtenstein  Norway  Switzerland Prüm Convention Schengen Information System Visa Information System Visa policy of the Schengen Area Non-Schengen area EU member states  Cyprus  Ireland (Opt-out)
European Economic Area EEA members Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia (provisional member) Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Non-EU members  Iceland  Liechtenstein  Norway Topics EEA Joint Committee EEA National Identity cards Microstates and the European Union
Elections Elections to the European Parliament European parties European foundations Political groups of the European Parliament Spitzenkandidat Constituencies Apportionment Referendums related to the EU European elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024 (latest election) Elections in EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden
Law Acquis Primacy (ECJ Case 6/64) Subsidiarity Regulation Directive Decision Recommendation Fundamental Rights
Policies and issues Budget Customs Union Free Trade Agreements European Single Market Area of FS&J Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Passports of the European Union Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism European banking union European Banking Supervision Single Resolution Mechanism Capital Markets Union European System of Financial Supervision Integration Supranationalism European Federation Multi-speed Europe Enhanced cooperation
Foreign relations High Representative Kaja Kallas Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Foreign relations of EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Argentina–European Union relations Armenia–European Union relations Australia–European Union relations Brazil–European Union relations Canada–European Union relations China–European Union relations European Union–NATO relations Georgia–European Union relations Iceland–European Union relations Kazakhstan–European Union relations Japan–European Union relations Mexico–European Union relations Moldova–European Union relations Norway–European Union relations Russia–European Union relations Switzerland–European Union relations Turkey–European Union relations Ukraine–European Union relations United Kingdom–European Union relations (History) Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union Brexit United States–European Union relations Common Travel Area (Ireland) Microstates and the European Union European Union and the United Nations European Union Association Agreement G7 G20
Defunct bodies European Communities (1958–1993) European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community European Community Western European Union Convention on the Future of Europe
European Union portal Other countries
v t e

The Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) is a department of the European Commission.

The directorate, established in January 2021 under the von der Leyen Commission and currently under the direction of Timo Pesonen, leads the European Commission's activities in the Defence Industry and Space sector. Some of its tasks were transferred from the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).

In the area of Defence Industry, DEFIS is in charge of upholding the competitiveness and innovation of the European Defence industry by ensuring the evolution of an able European defence technological and industrial base.

In the area of Space DG DEFIS is in charge of implementing the EU Space programme consisting of the European Earth Observation Programme (Copernicus), the European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo) and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). ^[1]

DG DEFIS is notably responsible for implementing the EU Space programme, made up originally of the European Earth Observation Programme (Copernicus), the European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo) and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).

The EU Space programme is jointly implemented by EU Member States, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT and many other stakeholders, and aims to improve for the needs of EU citizens.

In February 2023, European legislators agreed on the launch of a third satellite constellation, IRIS² - Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite. IRIS² is the European Union’s futureproofing solution  to enable enhanced communication capacities to governmental users, businesses, with high-speed internet broadband to counteract  connectivity dead zones. Suggested by the European Commission in February 2022, IRIS² will offer an EU space-based secure connectivity system to broaden access worldwide to secure, low-cost satellite communication services, in addition to universal high-speed broadband across Europe as a future proofing safeguard against potential challenges.

In addition, to combat the threats of satellite congestion saturation and the risks they pose to potential space infrastructure, the EU has proposed an approach to satellite traffic management (STM) which would enhance its tracking and surveillance capabilities, and standardize sustainability and safety regulations for in-space satellite usage.

A subset of the EU Space policy is the EU space entrepreneurship initiative, CASSINI, which was launched on January 25, 2022. Cassini Facility deploys a €1 billion investment for Venture Capital funds interested in investing in EU-based companies in the space sector. Investment opportunities under the CASSINI initiative allow for Finance, networking solutions as well as prizes and competitions. CASSINI is also a framework programme of EU space research, along with Horizon Europe.

Other CASSINI initiatives include In Orbit Demonstrations/In Orbit Validation services (IOD/IOV) where the Commission offers in-space testing opportunities to SMEs by providing payload allowance which grants simultaneous expositional and developmental interest to SMEs. In addition to IOD/IOV schemes, à flight ticket initiative organised by the DEFIS DG allows for the purchase of entire launch/delivery vehicles, especially launch vehicles from private space companies with payload allocated to SME/research materials.

The CASSINI Business Accelerator initiative provides intensive 6-month programmes to improve start-up and scale-up companies’ ability to achieve sustained commercial growth through coaching, training, events and seed funding

The European Commission aims to improve the European defence industry market competitiveness and innovation by supporting the European defence industry through multiple framework aids and initiatives.

In  response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission proposed a legislation to increase collaborative ammunition and missile production within EU member states to supply increased demand from the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. The legislation, named Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) would allocate EUR 50 million euros to secure crucial resources to ammunition manufacturing, fund EU defence companies, address bottleneck logistical and production issues as well as continuous EU-level monitoring of available defence and ammunition resources to ensure efficient distribution of resources. ASAP complements the European Defence Industrial Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) which was proposed as an initial response to ammunition shortages which resulted from the conflict. As of July 2023, both pieces of legislation have yet to be voted on by the EU's legislative bodies.

An additional resource under the DEFIS´s purview is the Certified Defence-related Enterprises Register (CERTIDER), which centralizes information about enterprises that are certified under Directive 2009/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 (simplifying the terms and conditions for the transfers of defence-related products within the EU), certification authorities and details about the certificates.

• European Commissioner for Internal Market
• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
• European Union Agency for the Space Programme
• European Space Agency (non-EU body)
• Common Security and Defence Policy
  • European Defence Agency

• Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space
• Press release, Europa
• Information, Europa