EC Announces Historic €300 Million Funding for Joint Weapons Procurement

The European Commission (EC) has made a historic decision to fund five large-scale joint weapons procurement projects, allocating €60 million to each.

This announcement was detailed in an EC press release on November 14.

The total funding for these five projects amounts to €300 million, executed under the European Defense Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA).

Through this initiative, Brussels plans to acquire defense equipment for EU member states’ armed forces, with an overall budget exceeding €11 billion.

"Most selected projects also include procurement of defense products intended for Ukraine, including air and missile defense systems and ammunition, bolstering the country's defense capabilities in the context of the ongoing Russian aggression," the EC stated in the press release.

Two of the projects focus on enhancing the EU’s collective air and missile defense capabilities. Nine member states—France, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, and Denmark—will purchase Mistral very short-range air defense systems. Meanwhile, six countries—Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Austria, Estonia, and Latvia—will jointly procure IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense systems.

Additionally, EDIRPA will support Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Germany in acquiring armored vehicles. The remaining two projects involve purchasing various types of 155-mm artillery shells. One project includes the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, and Croatia, while the other involves Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Estonia.

It was reported previously that the European Commission has approved the allocation of €4.1 billion to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility program, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.