The European Commission has approved €300 million in funding for five cross-border defence procurement projects, including an air defence system initiative involving Cyprus and eight other EU member states.
Cyprus will participate in the “MISTRAL” project alongside France, Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, and Denmark for the joint procurement of very short-range Mistral air defence systems.
The funding, approved on Thursday, allocates €60 million to each of the five projects under the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA). The initiatives cover three key areas: air defence and missile systems, armoured vehicles, and ammunition procurement, involving a total of 20 member states.
Other projects include the JAMIE initiative for medium-range IRIS-T SLM air defence systems, involving six member states, a common armoured vehicle system (CAVS) for troop transport involving four countries, and two separate projects for 155mm artillery ammunition procurement.
The selected projects will now enter the grant agreement preparation phase. The Commission notes that joint procurement aims to secure better pricing through economies of scale while improving interoperability between member states’ defence systems. Most projects will also support defence supplies for Ukraine, including air defence systems and ammunition.
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