The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to allocate 1.2 billion euros for 61 joint defense research projects, Report informs referring to Interfax.
The selected high-quality projects have shown that military-industrial cooperation in Europe can indeed be carried out, and even on a large scale. Nearly 700 companies that will research and develop innovative next-generation defense technologies with EU funds will create a sustainable and competitive industrial base, said EC Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.
She noted that the program of the European Defense Fund, within the framework of which the first-ever competition for the selection of applications for funding was held, covers the entire EU value chain.
The EC communique, published in Brussels, said the fund will support high-end defense capability projects such as next-generation fighters, tanks and ships, as well as critical defense technologies.
Almost 700 legal entities from 26 EU member states and Norway will participate in the implementation of the selected proposals. The projects are also notable for their enhanced defense cooperation - each has an average of 18 organizations from eight states. The EC also emphasizes the impressive participation of small and medium-sized enterprises: according to a number of proposals, they account for more than 40% of all involved entities and will receive about 20% of the total funding requested.
In addition, Brussels points to support for breakthrough technologies for defense: more than 5% of the budget is allocated to finance revolutionary ideas that will bring innovations that radically change the concepts and conduct of defense affairs.
The relevant EC services will now start preparing grant agreements with selected developers and manufacturers. These agreements are expected to be signed before the end of the year.