This analysis provides a structured examination of how EU-established entities controlled by non-associated third countries may obtain eligibility under the European Defence Industry Programme, detailing the admissibility criteria, guarantee requirements, Commission assessment logic and the interaction with FDI screening and related defence-industrial instruments. The reader will find a precise mapping of documented procedural steps, quantified thresholds, safeguard mechanisms and structural gaps in publicly available sources, enabling a clear understanding of where eligibility is legally defensible, where discretion remains, and where compliance risk persists across transatlantic ownership structures and multi-tier supply chains.