The European Union ministers also approved the creation of a 150 billion-euro arms fund.

On Tuesday, the Council of the European Union approved 11 new military cooperation projects under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) initiative, which includes 26 member states.

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This marks the sixth round of projects advanced since the initiative’s launch in 2017, through which participating countries aim to deepen their defense ambitions and enhance cooperation in the field.

Following the decision, the number of defense cooperation projects has reached 75, which, according to the Council, demonstrates “the continuous, collective, and determined commitment of the participating member states to strengthen the EU’s defense readiness.”

The new projects cover land, air and maritime domains, as well as strategic enablers and force multipliers. They also include training facilities and cutting-edge technologies such as quantum systems and directed energy weapons. Several of the projects directly address capability priorities identified by EU heads of state and government.

Also on Tuesday, European Union ministers approved the creation of a 150 billion-euro (about US$170.22 billion) arms fund, the bloc’s first large-scale defense investment program at the EU level.

The fund will be channeled through the new Security Action for Europe instrument, which offers competitively priced, long-term loans to member states that choose to invest in defense industrial production through joint procurement of priority capabilities.

The European Commission proposed the fund in March as a key component of its ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 package, which aims to leverage over 800 billion euros in defense spending to strengthen European security and defense cooperation.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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