The measure, which received the support of 519 MPs, with 119 votes “against”, will change the rules of existing EU programs such as Digital Europe, Horizon or the Connecting Europe Facility to make them available to both defense and dual-use projects.
“Defense is no longer a taboo for European funds, and this regulation is a reflection of that change,” Richard Kohls, the rapporteur for the measure, said on Monday in the European Parliament.
The new measure gives members the tools to “allocate for defense without increasing their budgets” and “creates a precedent” for how the EU should approach strengthening its defense industry, the Latvian conservative emphasized.
He said that this enables the member states, for example, to redirect unspent cohesion funds into allocations for defense and dual-purpose infrastructure. The Digital Europe program will henceforth enable projects that fight against hybrid threats or strengthen cyber resilience, and the Horizon program opens up for civilian projects with potential military use, reports Hina.
With the new measure, Ukraine becomes part of the European Defense Fund, and military mobility projects are added to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
“The EU is finally adapting its tools to today’s security circumstances. It’s not about new budgets, but about using existing programs in a smarter and more strategic way,” Kols concluded. “The tools are now in place, and delivery must follow”.
(Vijesti.ba)
