Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Commission boosts defence readiness with first-ever financial package for common defence procurement.
The European Commission has authorised funding for five cross-border projects to back more coordinated and efficient defence procurement among EU Member States. The projects executed under the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Instrument (EDIRPA), each of the 5 selected projects will welcome €60 million, representing a total amount of €300 million in allocation.
How will EDIRPA’s funding impact EU defence procurement efficiency?
According to the European Commission, the common procurement will make necessary defence capabilities more reasonable for Member States’ armed forces. With products procured in common, Member States’ armed forces will have enhanced interoperability. The more straightforward perspectives and more excellent predictability, which come with larger arrangements, will support the European industry, and permit it to adapt its production capacity to Europe’s defence needs.
What are the key areas of defence procurement under EDIRPA?
Projects backing common procurement of critical defence products by the Member States comprise three areas. The first area is procurement of air and missile defence systems: Two projects will support joint air and missile defence capacities. The ‘MISTRAL’ project helps the common procurement of ‘Mistral’ very short-range air defence tactics by nine Member States. Another project, ‘JAMIE’ will result in the common procurement of IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence systems by six Member States.
The second area is procurement of modern armoured vehicles: EDIRPA will also back the procurement of the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS), a contemporary armoured carrier for covered troop transport, by four Member States. The third area is procurement of ammunition: in two further projects, EDIRPA will help the common procurement of different kinds of 155mm artillery ammunition, namely the project ‘CPoA 155mm’ concerning six Member States and the project ‘HE 155mm’ involving four Member States.
What is the overall financial impact of the EDIRPA programme on EU defence?
As reported by the EU Commission, the five selected projects illustrate a combined procurement value surpassing €11 billion, representing the high leverage of EU funding. EDIRPA’s €300 million investment has incentivized a pledge over 36 times larger, indicating the programme’s effectiveness in driving significant defence investments across the EU.
