18/05/2026
The European Commission’s “Defence Readiness Omnibus” is part of a broader push to simplify EU rules in the name of competitiveness and investment. Presented as a package to accelerate defence production and facilitate up to €800 billion in defence-related investments, the proposal includes major changes to procurement rules, intra-EU transfers of defence products, license procedures and access to finance.
As Professor Alemanno, Founder of The Good Lobby, observed: “The Defence Omnibus signals a wider EU shift: using competitiveness and security to justify deregulation in sensitive sectors. This is an unprecedented development that has largely escaped public attention”. While the Commission presents that the reforms are needed to respond to Europe’s changing security environment, civil society organisations warn that the package weakens democratic oversight and arms export controls. Over 20 organisations, including The Good Lobby, signed an open letter calling on EU policymakers to reject the Omnibus as it could significantly reduce transparency and democratic oversight over arms transfers within and beyond the EU.
Addressed to the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament, the Council Presidency and national authorities responsible for arms export licences, the letter raises concerns that reform proposals presented under the banner of “simplification” and “efficiency” would reduce transparency and accountability in military transfers.
Concerns over transparency and oversight
The signatories warn in particular against expanding the use of General Transfer Licences (GTLs), broadening exemptions from prior authorisation requirements, and extending special transfer arrangements to non-EU partners. According to the letter, such measures would make it more difficult for national authorities to monitor the final destination and end-use of military equipment, components and technologies, including emerging technologies such as drones and autonomous systems.
Protecting democratic accountability
The letter also criticises proposals that would give the European Commission delegated powers over key aspects of arms transfer rules, despite arms export control remaining primarily a national competence under EU treaties. As the signatories underline, weapons and military technologies “cannot be sold like toys or cans of beans”. Any reform of EU defence rules must remain fully consistent with the EU Common Position on arms exports, the Arms Trade Treaty and international humanitarian and human rights obligations. The concerns raised by civil society were also covered by Euractiv, which reported on the risks that the proposed reforms could weaken oversight of military transfers and prioritise defence industry interests over transparency and accountability. With trilogue negotiations expected to continue in the coming days, civil society organisations are calling on EU decision-makers to ensure that efforts to streamline defence policies do not come at the expense of democratic scrutiny, peace and human rights safeguards. The debate around the Defence Omnibus also reflects a broader deregulatory trend within the EU, where initiatives framed as reducing administrative burdens increasingly risk weakening essential social, environmental and democratic protections.