EU Member States Approve Five Major Defense Projects

Reference News Network reported on October 1 According to a Reuters report on September 28, EU member states approved five pan-European defense project plans on the 28th, covering space, maritime, aerial, and drone defense measures, thus qualifying for EU funding.

In a statement announcing the approval of the above projects, the EU Council said: “The European Common Interest Defense Projects will promote cooperation among European countries to advance significant defense plans, the scale and complexity of which cannot be accomplished independently by a single EU member state.”

The five approved projects focus on developing drone and anti-drone operations, as well as safeguarding the eastern flank of Europe.

These defense projects were initially proposed by the European Commission in July this year. The projects also include a comprehensive maritime and underwater defense project, an air defense missile and early warning project, and a space-based defense project.

Ireland's Minister of Defense, Helen McEntee, who holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, stated: “In close cooperation with our partners Norway and Ukraine, we are taking decisive steps to protect our space, skies, seas, underwater cables, and the citizens who rely on them.”

According to the EU's European Defense Industrial Program, a special budget of 325 million euros has been allocated for the European Common Interest Defense Projects, with potential additional funding in the future.

According to a report by the Russian newspaper "Independent" on September 29, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has brought many consequences, one of which may be an irreversible change in the EU. Previously, the EU was primarily a political and economic union, involving only minimal defense functions. After February 24, 2022, the EU has increasingly taken on responsibilities that were not previously its own: coordinating defense and military affairs, doing what should have been the responsibility of NATO.

An important milestone in this process was the EU Foreign Affairs Council defense meeting held in Brussels on September 28. Several joint defense projects were approved at the meeting, including a drone combat project. Non-EU countries will also participate in this project, with Ukraine being one of them.

The outcomes of the Brussels meeting include substantial progress on a key defense initiative approved by EU leadership last year, namely the European Common Interest Defense Projects (EDPCI). This initiative aims to gather collective efforts to address defense construction challenges that European countries cannot solve on their own. Essentially, this is the prototype for a unified military-industrial complex.

Brussels has decided to implement five projects within the framework of the EDPCI, for which the European Commission has allocated 325 million euros. These projects involve drone manufacturing and anti-drone technology, maritime defense systems, space reconnaissance cooperation, air defense missile systems, and the reinforcement of the EU's eastern border.

Reports indicate that for Russia, the EDPCI not only signifies a European plan prioritizing, or even specifically targeting, the so-called "Russian threat." The projects within the framework of this initiative will involve not only EU member states but also Norway and Ukraine. This means that the joint air defense system may also cover Ukraine. As a result, joining NATO will largely lose its necessity for Ukraine, which will gain a level of defense industrial and security cooperation comparable to that of NATO member states.

The UK’s Financial Times quoted sources as saying that participants in Brussels are ready to "go further" in seeking EU reform. Foreign ministers from various EU countries discussed the formulation of a new security protocol. This protocol will reference Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that when any contracting party believes that its territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened, the parties will consult together. If the new protocol is indeed formulated in this way, it means that the EU is emulating NATO.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, confirmed that “foreign ministers had the opportunity to exchange views on the concept of a new EU security protocol.” She explained that the terms of the document would not simply replicate the content of NATO's Article 4, but would only address threats from the so-called "gray zone," such as cyberattacks and sabotage activities that do not fall under the definition of armed attacks.

According to a report by the American publication Politico, the "gray zone" referred to by the EU will be elaborated in more detail in the draft EU security strategy. This draft, prepared by the European Commission, may be submitted soon. (Translated by Liu Zongya and Li Ran)