EU Agrees €150 Billion Defence Industry Investment Fund, Sources Say
The European Union has agreed on the text of an agreement to borrow up to €150bn for investments in the defence industry of member states, two diplomats from key EU states said after a COREPER meeting on the morning of 19 May.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to European Pravda.
According to the sources, the text of the agreement has already been agreed upon, and the official vote at the level of permanent representatives of the EU states will take place on Wednesday, 21 May.
The agreement envisages raising up to €150 billion in financial markets to help EU member states rapidly increase investment in the defence industry in Europe. Funds will be made available at the request of interested Member States on the basis of national plans.
In particular, countries will be able to invest in ammunition and missiles; artillery systems, air and missile defence, production of individual equipment and small arms, small drones and systems to counter enemy UAVs, electronic warfare, maritime surface and underwater capabilities, cyber defence, related anti-UAV systems; critical infrastructure protection, cyber defence, military mobility development, etc.
The value of components originating from outside the EU, EFTA/SES states or Ukraine should not exceed 35% of the total estimated value of the final product components.
Joint procurement is also open to accession countries and third countries with which the EU has security and defence partnership agreements.
There is also the possibility of concluding a bilateral agreement with candidate countries, potential candidates, and other countries with defence partnerships.
Earlier, the European Commission said that the Ukrainian defence industry would be able to participate in the initiative "on an equal footing" with the defence industries of EU member states.
Recently, Ukraine and the EU set up a working group to expand cooperation between the European and Ukrainian defence industries.
The EU has also promised to transfer €1bn of profits from Russian assets to Ukrainian defence industry.
As The Gaze reported earlier, the European Commission is investing €910 million through the 2024 edition of the European Defence Fund (EDF) to strengthen Europe's defence capabilities, close key military gaps, and accelerate innovation across the continent.