8.3.4International comparison of Belgium and Flanders’ participation in the European Defence Fund 2021-2022

Since the data for 2023 is not yet complete, the following analysis continues for the period 2021-2022, the initial period of the EDF. This concerns about 92 projects, with 1596 participations (non-unique actors) for a total support of 1,675 billion euros. We would like to note that we are focusing here on the EDF support and the share of Belgium and Flanders within this amount (and not on the total project budget).

The 65 Belgian participations account for EDF support of 58,6 million euros. The 20 Flemish participations account for an amount of 24,4 million euros divided over 17 projects. It is important to note that we include the Von Karman Institute (VKI) in the following analysis as a Flemish actor (and not as a federal actor). The Flemish participations with budget are shown in the Table 3 below. Some clarifications regarding the table below:

• For the call EDF2022-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-HTDP, two consortia/projects, namely AIDEDex and CONVOY, signed up with Flemish partners.
• Two Flemish partners are participating in the RESILIENCE project.
• Three Flemish partners are participating in the EDF2021-EPW project.
   

The data allows us to look at the share that Belgium and Flanders take in the EDF budget. France, Germany, Italy, and Spain together account for about 65% of the EDF budget. Belgium ranks 8th with a share of 3,5%. Flanders accounts for about 1,5% of the budget and represents 1,3% of the total number of participations (see Figure 2).

The data also allows us to examine the share that Belgian and Flemish actors take in the projects they participate in, with a focus on the EDF budget. This share is shown in the Table 4 below. In some projects, this includes a share of more than 20% of the EDF budget. One of the projects, namely RESILIENCE, involves participation (in 2022) without a budget^[1].

^[1] _{This concerns more an agreement to collaborate}

Belgium is the coordinator of 3 projects, with Flanders taking responsibility for 2 of them. France is clearly the most dominant party, taking on a coordinator role in 34% of the projects. France is followed by Spain (17%), Germany (10%), and Greece (9%).