The Regulatory Map of Relevant Firms

A — Question and Function of the Dossier
The current EU defence-industrial framework does not simply fund projects; it creates a structured perimeter of addressable institutional demand. The practical consequence is that firms become “relevant” in different ways depending on how their corporate and product configurations intersect with eligibility gates, procurement participation rules, and time-bounded transition mechanisms. This dossier establishes an access-based taxonomy that remains anchored in enforceable provisions rather than in qualitative narratives about industrial “strength”. EDIP sets the baseline objective and scope by establishing both a programme for the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base and a cooperation instrument with Ukraine, explicitly framing the system around competitiveness, availability of defence products, and the integration trajectory of the Ukrainian DTIB. EDIP, Article 1(1)–(2). EDIP then defines the perimeter for recipients of Union funding through establishment and executive management conditions, localisation of assets used for supported actions, and control-related restrictions subject to safeguards as stated. EDIP, Article 9(1), Article 9(3)–(6). SAFE translates comparable perimeter logic into mandatory participation requirements for contractors and subcontractors in common procurements eligible for Union financial assistance, embedding those requirements into procurement procedures and contracts and thereby turning eligibility into contract-operational conditions. SAFE, Article 16(2)–(3). STEP adds a project-level label, the Sovereignty Seal, awarded by the Commission under conditions stated in Article 4 and intended to facilitate combined or cumulative support under other Union programmes, without creating any entitlement beyond what the text provides. STEP, Article 4(1)–(6). Against this backdrop, the aim is to define firm types as eligibility and procurability configurations: winning, high-risk, reformable, and norm-generated emerging types whose relevance follows from explicit roles and thresholds referenced in the instruments.