SAFE, EDIP and the European Defence Fund: your Dutch company as a contractor based in the EU
The European Union is spending heavily on defence through three programmes. The largest, Security Action for Europe (SAFE), lends up to €150 billion to 18 member states for joint purchases of weapons and equipment. The European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) gives €1.5 billion in grants for 2025 to 2027 to companies that expand defence production in Europe. The European Defence Fund (EDF) has nearly €7.3 billion for research and development from 2021 to 2027. All three pay companies based in the European Union, and your own Dutch company is one, provided most of the parts come from Europe and any control from outside Europe is covered by guarantees.
Ask about your situationA Dutch private limited company (BV) with its management and staff in the Netherlands counts as a company based in the European Union under all three programmes. SAFE also admits companies based in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine, provided their top management is there and they are free from control by a country outside that group. A company owned by, for example, an American or British parent can still take part if it gives guarantees that its member state checks (Regulation (EU) 2025/1106, Article 16). The European Defence Fund applies the same rule. EDIP also requires the company to use factories, offices and equipment in the European Union.
The rules on parts apply to every contractor, Dutch or foreign. Under SAFE, parts from outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine may make up at most 35% of the cost of all parts. EDIP sets the same threshold, with at least 65% from the European Union and associated countries. The Netherlands is outside the group of 18 countries with a SAFE loan, so the buyers for a Dutch company are those 18 countries and their main contractors. We set up the company and handle its registrations, bookkeeping, value added tax (VAT) and payroll. The company, its address, its directors and its shares remain yours.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
Who does what
We set up and manage the Dutch company. Specialist partners do the licence and product work. We are your only contact, with one file for all the work.
Your company
- Own the product, the technology and the design rights
- Decide the structure, for example a subsidiary, a holding with an operating company, or a joint venture with an EU partner
- Talk to the buying member states, their prime contractors and the consortium partners
- Sign the power of attorney for the formation and the applications
The Dutch company
- Set up the Dutch company or the holding structure, by power of attorney, with the notary
- Chamber of Commerce (KVK) number, tax number, VAT number, customs (EORI) number
- Bank account, bookkeeping, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporate tax
- Payroll and recognition as a sponsor at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) for your engineers
- One contact for the defence lawyer, the export-control lawyer and the notary
Licences and product rules
- Defence lawyer for the guarantees on control under SAFE and the European Defence Fund, the consortium agreement and the grant application
- Export-control lawyer for the classification of your goods, the licence applications at Dutch Customs and transfers of technology
- Accountant for the records of where your parts come from, which a main contractor asks for
- Introduction to the Dutch industry association for defence and security companies (NIDV)
SAFE, EDIP and the European Defence Fund compared
| Programme | Money and status | Who may be the contractor | Rule on parts and control | What your Dutch company does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAFE (Security Action for Europe), Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 | Up to €150 billion in loans to member states for joint purchases (Article 6). In force since 29 May 2025. The Council approved the plans of 18 member states between 11 February and 10 April 2026: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. First payments: Cyprus €177.2 million (18 June 2026), Lithuania €956.3 million (24 June 2026), Greece €118.2 million (23 July 2026), Estonia €351.6 million (12 August 2026). The Netherlands is outside the list. | Contractors and subcontractors based in the EU, in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein (the countries of the European Economic Area outside the EU, known as the EEA-EFTA states) or in Ukraine, with their top management there, and free of control by a country outside that group (Article 16(3)). A company based in the EU under such control takes part with guarantees that its member state checks (Article 16(5) and (6)). Ukraine and the EEA-EFTA states take part on equal terms. Companies from Canada take part since the agreement between the EU and Canada of June 2026; the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Norway, India, Albania, Moldova and North Macedonia have signed a Security and Defence Partnership with the EU. | Parts from outside the EU, the EEA-EFTA states and Ukraine: at most 35% of the estimated cost of all parts (Article 16(10)). For larger systems (category 2 products), the contractor decides on the design itself, free of restrictions from countries outside the group (Article 16(11)). A purchase by one member state alone counts only for contracts signed by 30 May 2026 (Article 4(3)); a joint purchase involves at least two countries. | Is the contractor or subcontractor based in the EU for the 18 borrowing member states. Parts it makes or assembles in the Netherlands count as parts from inside. Gives the guarantees when your group is outside the EU. |
| EDIP (European Defence Industry Programme) | €1.5 billion in grants for 2025 to 2027, of which €300 million for the defence industry of Ukraine. Adopted by the Council on 8 December 2025. | Companies based in the EU, with their top management in the EU, that use factories, offices, equipment and people in the EU. | At least 65% of the total cost of the parts from the EU or associated countries (the members of the European Economic Area). Parts from other countries are excluded where they go against the security and defence interests of the EU or its member states. As a rule, the company that decides on the design (the design authority) is in the EU. | Is the company based in the EU with its own managers and facilities in the Netherlands, and the applicant or partner for the grant. |
| European Defence Fund (EDF) | Nearly €7.3 billion for 2021 to 2027 for joint defence research and development. Work programme 2026: €1 billion, adopted on 17 December 2025. | Recipients and subcontractors are based in the EU, with their top management in the EU, and free of control by a country outside the EU and the associated countries; exceptions are possible through approved guarantees. A project group (consortium) includes companies from at least three member states or associated countries (Norway and Ukraine). | Companies from other countries can take part in a project; the money of the fund goes to the recipients based in the EU. | Is the recipient based in the EU in the consortium, and gives the guarantees on control when your group is outside the EU and the associated countries. |
SAFE lends to member states, so your Dutch company sells to a borrowing member state or to its main contractor. Because the 35% rule applies to the whole purchase contract, main contractors ask every supplier where its parts come from and who owns it.
How the rules treat a Dutch company
All three programmes ask for a contractor that is based in the EU with its top management in the EU. A Dutch BV with its own managers and its own offices or factory in the Netherlands meets that condition, while a registration alone falls short, because the rules ask for managers, buildings and people in the EU.
SAFE and the European Defence Fund also ask who controls the company. A Dutch company owned by a parent in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Korea or Japan is controlled from outside the EU, the EEA-EFTA states and Ukraine, and under SAFE it takes part once it gives guarantees that its member state checks (Article 16(5) and (6)); the European Defence Fund likewise allows exceptions through approved guarantees. The regulation sets out what the guarantees must cover, and a defence lawyer from our network prepares them with you. Companies from Canada take part in SAFE purchases under the agreement of June 2026, and countries with a Security and Defence Partnership can reach a similar agreement with the EU.
The rule on the origin of parts applies to a Dutch company in the same way. Under SAFE at most 35% of the cost of the parts may come from outside the EU, the EEA-EFTA states and Ukraine, and EDIP asks for at least 65% from the EU or associated countries. Parts your Dutch company makes or assembles in the Netherlands count as parts from inside, while parts your parent company ships in from outside remain foreign, whichever company imports them. Production in the Netherlands therefore raises the European share, and a registration alone leaves it unchanged.
The rule on design also applies in the same way. For larger systems (category 2 products) under SAFE, the contractor must decide on the design itself, free of restrictions from countries outside the group, and under EDIP the company that decides on the design (the design authority) is, as a rule, in the EU. A Dutch company that owns the design rights for the European version of your product meets that condition, while a company that needs permission from abroad for every change falls short.
The Netherlands is outside the 18 borrowing member states, so SAFE money goes to other buyers, and your Dutch company sells to those 18 member states and their main contractors as a contractor based in the EU. For Dutch orders, see Dutch defence contracts for foreign suppliers.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
One Dutch company for every role
A single company can act as the contractor based in the EU for SAFE, the applicant for EDIP, the recipient in a European Defence Fund consortium, the contracting party with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the employer of your engineers and the exporter with the licences, with its VAT number, customs registration number (EORI) and payroll all in one place.
A holding with an operating company keeps the production and the contracts apart from the shares and the intellectual property. The parent company abroad owns the Dutch holding, and the holding owns the operating company that signs the contracts. See holding structures in the Netherlands. The company pays corporate tax of 19% on the first €200,000 of profit and 25.8% on the rest, and dividends to a parent company in a country with a tax treaty are usually free of Dutch dividend tax.
The company remains yours, with an address you choose, directors you appoint and shares you own. Your Dutch company (BV) costs from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. Partners charge their own prices, which you see in advance. See company formation in the Netherlands and setting up a subsidiary in Europe.
Sources
- Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 of 27 May 2025 establishing the Security Action for Europe (SAFE), Articles 4, 6 and 16, EUR-Lex (2025).
- Council of the EU, Security Action for Europe (SAFE) (reviewed 15 June 2026), with the 18 member states approved between 11 February and 10 April 2026, the Canada agreement and the partnerships.
- European Commission, SAFE (August 2026), on the 18 member states, the 65% rule and the first payments of June to August 2026.
- Council of the EU, European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) (reviewed 28 September 2026), adopted on 8 December 2025, with €1.5 billion, the 65% rule and the design authority.
- European Commission, European Defence Fund (EDF) (2026), on nearly €7.3 billion, who may take part, control and the work programme 2026.
Checked on 27 October 2026 against the official sources in the list of sources, as they apply in October 2026. The guarantees on control, the consortium agreements and the export licences are prepared by specialised partners; we coordinate.
What we arrange beyond the company
Once your Dutch company is set up, we can help you with more. When you win a Dutch defence order, the government asks you to place part of the work with Dutch companies, and we find those companies for you. We prepare subsidy applications for your company, such as the Dutch subsidy for renewable energy and climate projects (SDE++) and the tax credit for research and development (WBSO). We help you buy a Dutch contractor or supplier, and we arrange export credit insurance and project finance with the banks.
We agree every fee with you first and link it to the result. For a project that deserves it, we join as co-founder and take a share of 5 to 10% in the project company.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you make, which programme or buying member state you are aiming at and where your company and its owners are based, and our team will advise you on the structure that suits you.
Related guides
More guides about selling in Europe.