Latest news with #EuropeanDefenseIndustryProgram
Al Arabiya
24-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
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.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Europe Is Short of Gunpowder and TNT
Europe is struggling to produce enough gunpowder, TNT, and other explosives and propellants to meet its demand. The European Union has proposed 150 billion ($162.6 billion) in loans to boost defense spending as part of its latest effort to compensate for waning US support. The European Defense Industry Program would provide another 1.5 billion of EU funding to industry players from 2025 to 2027, but the Commission's regulation has not yet been passed by the European Parliament. Bloomberg's Laura Alviz breaks down the situation. Sign in to access your portfolio
Russia Today
08-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
NATO troops unable to move quickly across EU
The EU would be unable to move a major military force within the bloc's territory in case of need, a recent report by its financial watchdog stated this week. Bureaucratic hurdles and chaotic logistical planning would prevent a swift deployment, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) concluded in the document . Brussels has already spent all of its budget allocated for improving military logistics between 2021 and 2027 without achieving the stated goal of 'moving military staff, equipment, and supplies swiftly and seamlessly,' the ECA said in a statement accompanying the report. Funding worth €1.7 billion ($1.76 billion) was spent in just two years and no money was 'left in the pot by the end of 2023,' the report said, adding that organizing military movements within the bloc could still face 'significant delays.' Member states still need to file a notification of cross-border movement 45 days in advance in order to get authorization, according to the paper. One nation's tanks can also be outright banned from crossing into the territory of a neighboring EU member simply because they are heavier than allowed by the neighbor's road traffic regulations, the report said. Military logistics directions can also include infrastructure like bridges that are not suitable for heavy equipment, requiring armor to take a major detour, it added. Read more France to double military spending – Macron The ECA blamed the chaotic planning and management structure for the setbacks. 'Governance arrangements for military mobility in the EU are complex and fragmented, without a single point of contact, which makes it difficult to know who does what,' it said. With the allocated military mobility budget spent, there will be 'a significant gap of over four years' before any more funds will be available, it warned. 'Projects were funded mainly in the east of the EU, but the bloc hardly funded any projects at all on the southern route towards Ukraine' the watchdog said. The ECA – an independent auditing body with a college consisting of individual members assigned by each EU member state – has been critical of Brussels' defense policy initiatives over the past several years. In 2024, it warned that the European Defense Industry Program could fail to reach its goals despite a €1.5 billion budget due to a poor balance between policy objectives, funding, and the timeline for implementation. The program could result in resources 'spread across a wide array of projects that may not have a measurable impact at EU level,' it said. In 2023, it stated that the EU was lacking a long-time strategy on defense spending, while also warning later the same year that financial assistance to Kiev could add tens of billions of euros to the bloc's debt due to Ukraine potentially being unable to repay its loans.
