Billions for Defence: those who want to participate must be prepared in time.

Today, the new cabinet will appear on the steps. D66, VVD and CDA have announced that they will significantly increase defence spending. Reuters reported that this is aimed at approximately 5 billion euros per year and that the total additional defence effort may eventually rise to around 19 billion euros per year, with a growth trajectory towards 2.8% of GDP in 2030 and 3.5% in 2035.

This creates a strong demand for entrepreneurs focusing on the defence market. This demand offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs who are well prepared for the increasing needs of the Ministry of Defence.

For entrepreneurs, the growing demand is the visible part. The less visible part is how the ambitions of the minority cabinet translate into contracts, selections and permits. Operating in the defence market is not only about being able to supply strategic and dual-use goods. The legal issues at play may be even greater.

The questions you can ask yourself are: which routes must your business follow, which information may and must you share, what requirements apply regarding supply security and safety, and which regulations will come into play once you scale up, such as investment screening and export control.

Entering the defence market is not a uniform process for companies

When a business enters the defence market, it does not end up in a traditional market with public announcements and clear procedures. In practice, it is a nuanced process in which knowledge and experience are essential.

TenderNed recently clarified this with figures. Over the period 2023 to 2025, a defence and security framework was used in 19% of cases. This means that public procedures and negotiations are often not applicable because sensitive information is involved. Parties are preselected for these procedures, with strict checks on security risks.

This means that it is determined in advance who is allowed to submit a proposal and which business gets the opportunity to enter the defence market.

Finally, TenderNed notes that defence tenders attract fewer bids on average due to the higher thresholds and stricter entry requirements.

Which procedure should you use to access the defence market?

The first choice a business faces is the procedure it must use to have a chance of entering the defence market. These three routes are also extensively explained in our article on defence and security procurement.

The first route is the regular procurement law for contracts that, legally and factually, do not primarily qualify as defence or security contracts. The second route is the specific defence and security framework, which aligns with the European directive for defence and security contracts and offers room for a procedural design that better suits confidentiality and supply security.

The third route is an exemption route: invoking Article 346 TFEU. It is sometimes believed that this article can be used to bypass procurement rules related to security. That is incorrect. The European Commission has long emphasised that this is a strictly interpreted exception that must be justified on a case-by-case basis, in light of case law, and not as a generic exemption from procurement rules in the defence market.

For entrepreneurs, this is not an optional choice. The chosen route is essential in order to have a chance to enter the defence market. Mistakes in this process are fatal and may ensure that your business is without prospects before it has even entered the defence market.

The phase before publication by the Ministry of Defence

The phase before publication is often underestimated. TenderNed reports that in the past three years the Ministry of Defence published an average of 56 market consultations per year and that around one in five tenders was preceded by a consultation. This is relevant because in that phase the outline of the contract, the feasibility of delivery deadlines and the security requirements that will be imposed become clear.

When your business appears with a traditional sales pitch, it misses the essence. The Ministry of Defence does not only select based on what you can deliver, but also on how you can demonstrably deliver within the conditions of security, chain management and continuity.

In addition to these conditions, the legal issues are also immediately relevant during this process. Which information can be shared despite confidentiality concerns, how do you protect your own position without being insufficiently transparent, and how can you sufficiently demonstrate that you can provide enough certainty to deliver what you promise.

This phase is essential to have any chance at all when the contract is published by the Ministry of Defence.

Supply security is an important test for Defence

The money going to defence is becoming significantly more. This means that businesses operating in the defence market (or wishing to do so) will need to scale up. This is often associated with increasing capacity, staffing and production.

On the defence market, however, these are questions that are less relevant. Scaling up in the defence market is mainly measured in terms of manageability. The Ministry of Defence may impose requirements that go beyond what is customary in civil processes, precisely because it wants to legally enforce supply security, quality and reliability.

This affects the evidence you must be able to provide. Think of demonstrable quality assurance, verifiable chain arrangements and a governance structure suited to the sensitivity of the contract.

Those who gather this substantiation only when submitting a bid will quickly lag behind the procedure. Those who structurally have this substantiation in order can respond faster, answer more consistently and avoid having a tender fail on conditions unrelated to the technical aspects.

European military procurement becomes more concrete through EDIP

The ambition of the new cabinet does not stand on its own. At the European level, the same direction is being pursued: joint procurement, industrial policy and reducing strategic dependencies. In December 2025, the Council of the EU definitively adopted the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP); we previously discussed this extensively in another article.

The programme provides 1.5 billion euros in subsidies for 2025 to 2027, of which 300 million euros is earmarked for Ukraine.

For entrepreneurs, it is especially important that EDIP not only makes funds available but also sets conditions that concretely change the playing field. In the regulation and its explanation you will find, for example, requirements related to establishment, control and supply chains.

It is important that EDIP includes admission requirements regarding establishment in the EU or associated countries and restrictions when control is exercised by a non-associated third country. The Council also emphasises a supply-chain requirement: components from outside the EU and associated countries may in principle not exceed 35% of the total component costs of the end product.

Such conditions carry through to your boardroom. Once you start scaling up, investors, supplier choices and international partnerships become relevant more quickly. The direction set by the Council makes these matters part of the admissibility of entering the defence market.

Scaling up affects screening and export control

Investment screening and export control come into play early in the process.

Since 1 June 2023, the Vifo Act has been in force. The Vifo Act introduced a security test for investments, mergers and acquisitions that may pose risks to national security. The central government explicitly notes that the law currently focuses on specific technologies, including dual-use and military goods.

In addition, export control is crucial. In practice, it concerns not only physical goods but also technology, knowledge sharing, brokerage and technical assistance. The European summary of the dual-use framework emphasises that the control system covers export, transit, brokering and technical assistance.

In our previous article, we placed the Vifo Act in a practical context: strategic goods and related services require prior assessment, permits and strict contractual arrangements regarding information and cooperation.

What this means for your position in the defence market

The plans of the new cabinet do not simply result in more contracts. The effect is an acceleration of processes in which legal conditions play a larger and earlier role.

The key question you must ask yourself early in the process is therefore not only whether you can technically deliver, but whether you can demonstrably deliver within the correct regime, with a dossier that can withstand selection, contractual pressure and supervision.

Blenheim assists businesses that supply to the Ministry of Defence or want to position themselves in the defence market, including procurement strategy, contract formation and permits.

If you want to position or further expand your business in the defence market, feel free to contact one of our specialists.