The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday the first-ever financial support of 300 million euros from the EU budget for joint defense procurement by member states.
"For the first time, we are using the EU budget to assist member states in joint procurement of defense products. This operation has been successful: we are investing 300 million euros into five projects aimed at addressing critical and urgent gaps in defense capabilities," stated EC Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.
According to her, "this will ensure a better price-quality ratio for national defense budgets, enhance the operational interoperability of European armed forces, strengthen the industry, and make Europe more prepared to face defense threats."
Vestager added that the selected projects will also "increase the EU's support for Ukraine through additional defense equipment."
It is reported that each of the five projects, involving 20 EU countries, will receive 60 million euros from Brussels, totaling 300 million euros in union funding.
The EC's communiqué notes that overall joint procurement amounting to more than 11 billion euros for the armed forces of member states will bolster their defense capabilities.
Joint procurement of critically important defense products covers three areas: air and missile defense systems, modern armored vehicles, and ammunition.