EU Commission to propose dedicated defence and space investment in new fund
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The European Commission is expected to put forward a plan for a competitiveness fund to invest in strategic sectors and innovation.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BRUSSELS – The European Commission will propose dedicating part of a new European Competitiveness Fund to resilience, defence and space, the EU executive leadership said on June 25.
The Commission is expected to put forward a plan for a competitiveness fund to invest in strategic sectors and innovation as part of an upcoming proposal for the bloc’s 2028 to 2034 Budget.
“The gap to fill, after years of under-investment and under-attention to defence, is large,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote in a letter to European leaders on June 25.
“This is why the Commission’s proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework will also address the need for substantial funding for defence in the years to come through a dedicated Resilience, Defence and Space window of the European Competitiveness Fund,” they wrote.
EU leaders are expected to discuss defence priorities during a summit in Brussels on June 26.
The discussion will take place a day after a Nato summit in The Hague, where alliance members committed to boosting defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product. REUTERS
