EU may ease off defense-industry aversion in lending rules

MILAN – The European Commission is evaluating easing restrictions within the bloc’s sustainability investment framework to grant defense companies access to more loans from financial institutions .

European defense companies have faced difficulties in fulfilling the Commission’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing criteria, primarily due to policy and ethical considerations stemming from their weapons production, which were viewed as contrary to some of the pillars.

This has previously led to criticism from the armament sector, which blamed the regulation as having discouraged banks from lending to companies, ultimately hindering their access to key investment opportunities.

Such frameworks may be revised, a Commission spokesman told Defense News, as part of broader efforts to simplify rules for defense businesses across Europe and facilitate production.

“The Commission is assessing whether access to finance can be further reinforced, including through relevant adjustment of the sustainable finance framework,” spokesman Thomas Regnier said in an email statement.

Such considerations are part of the defense “Omnibus” proposal the bloc is expected to present next month, which is “aimed at creating conditions for rapid industrial ramp-up across Europe and will propose to amend EU legislation accordingly,” Regnier wrote.

As part of the White Paper for European Defense Readiness 2030 adopted in March, the Commission collected data and suggestions from member states and industry to help remove EU regulatory barriers and discriminations affecting the continent’s defense industry.

Another challenge concerns the European Union Taxonomy regulation, which is responsible for defining which economic activities are deemed environmentally sustainable.

The language currently does not count most arms manufacturing as activities that contribute to the bloc’s environmental or social sustainability objectives. For example, the classification centers on “do no significant harm” as a standard.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been growing pressure from defense officials to revise this exclusion to allow more security activities into both the EU taxonomy and ESG framework.

In 2023, EU defense ministers issued a joint statement that called for “strengthening Europe’s defense technological and industrial base’s access to finance and its ability to contribute to peace, stability and sustainability in Europe.”

In March, the European Investment Bank heard this plea and modified some of its investment practices, including expanding the eligibility of companies for security and defense investments.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——欧盟委员会正在评估放宽欧盟可持续发展投资框架内的限制，以使国防公司能够从金融机构获得更多贷款。

欧洲国防公司在满足欧盟委员会的环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 投资标准方面面临困难，这主要是由于其武器生产引发的政策和道德方面的考虑，这些考虑被认为与某些支柱相悖。

此前，军火行业曾对此提出批评，指责该监管措施阻碍了银行向军火公司放贷，最终阻碍了它们获得关键投资机会。

欧盟委员会发言人告诉《防务新闻》，作为简化欧洲国防企业规则和促进生产的更广泛努力的一部分，此类框架可能会进行修订。

发言人托马斯·雷尼尔在一份电子邮件声明中表示：“委员会正在评估是否可以进一步加强融资渠道，包括通过对可持续金融框架进行相关调整。”

雷尼尔写道，这些考量是欧盟预计下个月提出的国防“综合”提案的一部分，该提案“旨在为欧洲各地工业的快速发展创造条件，并将提议相应地修改欧盟立法”。

作为 3 月份通过的《2030 年欧洲防务准备白皮书》的一部分，欧盟委员会收集了成员国和业界的资料和建议，以帮助消除影响欧洲大陆国防工业的欧盟监管壁垒和歧视。

另一个挑战与欧盟分类法规有关，该法规负责界定哪些经济活动被认为是环境可持续的。

现行法律条文并未将大多数武器制造活动视为有助于欧盟环境或社会可持续发展目标的活动。例如，该分类以“不造成重大损害”为标准。

自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，国防官员施加的压力越来越大，要求修改这一排除条款，以便将更多安全活动纳入欧盟分类和 ESG 框架。

2023 年，欧盟国防部长发表联合声明，呼吁“加强欧洲国防技术和工业基础的融资渠道及其为欧洲和平、稳定和可持续发展做出贡献的能力”。

今年 3 月，欧洲投资银行听取了这一呼吁，并修改了其一些投资做法，包括扩大安全和国防投资的公司资格范围。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。