The European Commission on Friday unveiled a proposal to launch five major cross-border defense projects, an initiative aimed at strengthening military cooperation between member states and facilitating access to European funding.
Among the selected projects is a vast program dedicated to drones and counter-drone systems, called DECODE (Drone and Counter Drone European ResolveIt brings together 26 European Union member states, as well as Norway and Ukraine. Its objective is to develop, produce, and deploy unmanned systems in a coordinated manner to address Europe's capability gaps. Planned investments are estimated at between €3,5 and €5 billion by 2033.
The Commission is also proposing a project to monitor Europe's eastern flank, involving 13 Member States, Norway, and Ukraine. Three other initiatives concern maritime defence and seabed protection, air and missile defence with early warning capabilities, and strengthening European space capabilities.
According to Brussels, these European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDCPs) should allow EU countries to jointly conduct military programs of a scale or complexity they could not develop alone. The objective is also to stimulate innovation, strengthen the competitiveness of the European defence industry, and reduce market fragmentation.
The Commission stresses that these initiatives complement NATO's capability priorities and aim to improve the European Union's ability to respond to common security challenges in a context of high geopolitical tensions.
An initial budget of €325 million is allocated under the European Defence Industry Programme to support these projects, with the possibility of additional funding in the future. The five initiatives must now be reviewed and approved by the Council of the European Union before they can be officially launched.
Community
Comments
Comments are open, but protected against spam. Initial posts and comments containing links undergo manual review.
Be the first to comment on this article.