EU lawmakers seeks to push long-stalled defense plan
EU lawmakers on Thursday sought to speed up approval of a long-stalled 1.5-billion-euro plan to boost Europe's defense industry that has already been overtaken by a far larger package proposed by Brussels.
The European Defense Industry Program (EDIP) has been held up since March last year by wrangling over what share of the weaponry funds should be produced in the European Union.
A committee of lawmakers finally approved the European Parliament's position that 70 percent of components should come from inside the bloc.
Legislators hope the vote will now push the EU's 27 member states to come up with their joint position before a final deal can be negotiated.
Since the initiative was proposed in 2024, the EU has considerably ramped up its defense push as fears swirl over US commitment to the continent under President Donald Trump.
Brussels last month proposed a 150-billion-euro ($171-billion) program of loans backed by the EU's central budget designed to help member states increase spending in the face of the threat from Russia.
That plan is part of a bigger push involving loosening budget rules that the EU says could eventually add 800 billion euros to military budgets in the bloc.
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