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EU Proposes Defense Ties With Ukraine 11/25 06:13
The European Union's defense chief on Tuesday proposed deeper integration of
the bloc's defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux
and Russia's unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's defense chief on Tuesday proposed
deeper integration of the bloc's defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace
plan remains in flux and Russia's unconventional warfare operations rattle the
27-nation bloc.
EU lawmakers are due to hold a vote on a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion)
program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support
Instrument.
Ukraine's defense industry "needs us," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius
Kubilius told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, without mentioning the
ongoing peace negotiations to end the war. "But we need Ukraine's defense
innovations even more,"
He said that allowing Ukrainian access to the EU's Defence Investment
Program "makes it possible to procure defense equipment in, with and for
Ukraine."
EU defense spending is expected to total around 392 billion euros (more than
$450 billion) this year, almost double the amount of four years ago, before
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
The Trump administration has signaled that it's prioritizing U.S. security
on its own domestic borders and in Asia. It has told Europeans that they must
fend for themselves and Ukraine in the future.
Born out of the carnage of the two world wars, the EU started as a trading
bloc designed to avert conflict. But Russia's war in Ukraine has spurred a
shift in the Brussels-based bloc, heightening its defense and security posture.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, believes that about 3.4
trillion euros ($4 trillion) will probably be spent on defense over the next
decade. To help, it intends to propose boosting the EU's long-term budget for
defense and space to 131 billion euros ($153 billion).
EU member countries are being urged to buy much of their military equipment
within the bloc, working mostly with European suppliers -- in some cases with
EU help to cut prices and speed up orders. Under the road map, EU nations
should only purchase equipment from abroad when costs, performance or supply
delays make it preferable.
Kubilius said that EU-based defense companies can apply for tax breaks and
other financial incentives to fund so-called European defense projects of
common interest that "no member state can ever build alone, but that will
protect the whole of Europe," like Eastern Flank Watch, Drone Defense
Initiative or Space Shield.
Permitting Ukrainian companies to participate in these projects "allows us
to inject Ukrainian military innovation in the European defense industry," he
said.
Last week, the European Commission rolled out a new defense package to allow
tanks and troops to deploy more rapidly across Europe as well as the EU Defense
Industry Transformation Roadmap, which aims to simplify and unify regulations
on the EU's defense industry, and corral investment into domestic production of
weapons, vehicles, satellites, shells and bullets.
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