April 2026 Data (May Edition)

Section A: The Themes Hidden in April's Lobbying Data

Record EU-Ukrainian Defence Innovation Push in April

A €160 million EU–Ukraine Defence Innovation Programme was launched to promote high-tech dual-use technologies like robotics and drones, coinciding with a surge in Brussels lobbying on these subjects by Tencore Ltd., SAFRAN, and Airbus, often engaging with Direct. Gen. Defence and Space and Comm Kubilius (Defence and Space). The initiative is designed to leverage up to €400 million in private financing, reflecting the defence sector’s heightened efforts to secure support for cross-border industrial cooperation, as seen in ongoing exchanges involving Hanwha Aerospace Romania S.R.L. and Destinus NL BV.

📎 EU and Ukraine launch programme worth over €160 million to advance dual ... · EU–Ukraine launches €160M defence innovation programme to ... - tech.eu

Defence Robotics Partnerships Intensify as Joint Ventures Announced

The announcement of a Shark Robotics–Tencore joint venture at the EU–Ukraine Business Summit comes amid lobbying by Tencore Ltd. and the Confederation of European Security Services, in meetings with Direct. Gen. Defence and Space and Direct. Gen. Joint Research, focused on integrating robotics into defence supply chains. The French-Ukrainian alliance, explicitly backed by EU stakeholders, targets military logistics, medical evacuation, and dual-use applications, mirroring lobbying efforts by military vehicle and security firms such as THALES.

📎 Asters advises on EU-backed Shark Robotics–Tencore partnership · Ukraine’s Tencore and France’s Shark Robotics launch joint venture

EU Ups Funding for Defence Projects with Ukrainian Integration

The European Defence Fund invested $1.26 billion in 57 projects—with robotics, drones, and cooperation with Ukrainian entities taking center stage. This move coincides with a documented spike in lobbying by organisations such as Tencore Ltd. and Hanwha Aerospace Romania S.R.L., together with Airbus engaging the Directorate-General for Defence and Space, as well as DASSAULT AVIATION meeting with EVP Sejourne (Industry and SMEs), many pressing for deeper integration and increased eligibility in pan-European defence tenders.

📎 EU invests $1.26 billion in 57 defense projects focusing on drones, AI ...

Major Funding to Modernise Ukrainian and EU Defence Industry

A €1.5 billion work programme adopted in late March reserves over €260 million for Ukrainian defence base renewal, including missile and drone production. This policy development aligns with increased lobbying on the 'Secure Action For Europe' instrument, where military fighting vehicles and aerospace actors are prominent in discussions with EU officials.

📎 Commission adopts €1.5 billion work programme to boost European and ... · EU adopts €1.5 billion work programme to boost European and ...

Section B: Lobbying Activity by Industry

This section compares, by industry, the lobbying activity with the European Commission last month to its historical average.

Industry Lobbying Activity, April 2026

In April 2026, 3 industries from this sector were active in lobbying meetings with the European Commission, led by Air and Spacecraft Manufacturing.

Industries running notably above their historical average this month include Military Fighting Vehicles and Investigation and Security.

On the quieter side, Air and Spacecraft Manufacturing saw notably less lobbying activity than their historical average.

Section C: Lobbying by Industry for the Past Year

To contextualize Section B, this chart shows the residual trajectory of the same top industries from Section B over the past 12 months — the deviation from what would be expected after accounting for seasonal patterns and the overall trend. Persistent above-zero values indicate sustained over-activity; persistent below-zero values indicate sustained quiet periods.

Industry Lobbying Residuals, April 2026

This chart shows the 3 industries in this sector with the largest deviations from expected lobbying activity in April 2026. Positive values run above their seasonal trend, negative values below.

Air and Spacecraft Manufacturing, Military Fighting Vehicles, and Investigation and Security saw lobbying notably below expected levels this month.

Section D: Lobbying Activity by Organization

In this section, we see the organizations with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month, defined by either unusually high or unusually low lobbying activity.

Organization Lobbying Activity, April 2026

In April 2026, 17 organizations from this sector took part in 23 lobbying meetings with the European Commission.

The organizations with the most notable increases in lobbying activity this month include Appel de Geneve / Geneva Call, Leonardo S.p.A., and International Crisis Group.

On the quieter side, Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe, SAFRAN, THALES, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce saw notably less lobbying activity than usual.

New to the sector's lobbying records this month: Embraer Portugal S.A., Hanwha Aerospace Romania S.R.L., Tencore Ltd., and Destinus NL BV.

Section E: Lobbying of Government Institutions in the Past Month

Every lobbying meeting takes place with one of two types of European Commission body: a Commissioner's cabinet (political staff) or a Directorate-General (the civil service). This section shows the organisation-to-institution pairings with the most unusual lobbying activity last month, defined by the largest absolute difference between this month's meeting count and the pair's 12-month rolling average.

Lobbying of Commission Institutions, April 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In April 2026, 17 organisations from this sector met with 12 Commission bodies across 23 meetings — split across 5 Commissioner cabinets and 7 Directorates-General.

Section F: Organization Lobbying by Subject in the Past Month

This section shows the organisation-to-subject pairings with the most unusual lobbying activity last month. Subjects are classified from each meeting's title text into one of 19 EU policy areas. A meeting covering multiple topics counts toward each of them.

Lobbying by Subject, April 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In April 2026, 14 organisations from this sector lobbied on 6 policy topics across 23 meetings. Meetings may touch multiple topics, so subject totals can exceed total meetings.

Topics with notably elevated lobbying activity this month include Appel de Geneve / Geneva Call on Foreign Affairs and International Crisis Group on Foreign Affairs.

On the quieter side, THALES on ICT & Cybersecurity, Airbus on Single Market, Leonardo S.p.A. on Defence, and Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe on Defence saw notably less lobbying activity than their historical average.

Section G: Most-Lobbied Officials

This section lists the most-frequent lobbying touchpoints between this sector's organisations and individual European Commission officials last month, compared to each pairing's average over the past year.

Most-Lobbied Officials, April 2026

In April 2026, 23 European Commission officials took part in 23 meetings with this sector's lobbyists.

The most-frequent meetings this month were DASSAULT AVIATION and Stephane Sejourne at EVP Sejourne (Industry and SMEs), SAFRAN and Andrius Kubilius + 2 others at Comm Kubilius (Defence and Space), Leonardo S.p.A. and Filip Cornelis at Direct. Gen. Transport and Tourism, THALES and Filip Cornelis at Direct. Gen. Transport and Tourism, and Rolls-Royce and Eddy Liegeois at Direct. Gen. Transport and Tourism.

Most activity came from Head of Units (12 meetings), followed by Cabinet member (8) and Director (4).