EU member states on Monday approved five pan-European defence projects, making them eligible for EU funding.
The projects cover drone and anti-drone warfare, the protection of Europe’s eastern flank, integrated maritime and seabed defence, air and missile defence with early warning, and space-based defence. The European Commission first proposed them in July.
Cyprus is listed as a participant in four of the five, all except the space project, according to the Commission’s proposal.
The bloc has earmarked 325 million euros for the projects from its 1.5 billion-euro European Defence Industry Programme, and more money may become available in future.
Known as European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs), the schemes let European countries work together on major defence initiatives that would be too large or too complex for a single EU member to develop, the Council of the European Union said in a statement announcing the approvals.
“Working closely with our partners Norway and Ukraine, together we are taking decisive steps to protect space, our skies, our seas, undersea cables and our citizens who depend on them,” said Helen McEntee, Ireland’s defence minister. Ireland holds the Council’s rotating presidency.
Cypriot companies already develop drone, counter-drone and maritime systems, and several presented them at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris, philenews reported in June.
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