For the first time in history, the European Union approved the joint purchase of weapons. Ukraine will receive part of it

For the first time in its history, the European Commission (EC) has approved the financing of five large joint arms procurement projects. Each of them will receive €60 million.

This is stated in the EC press release dated November 14.

The total amount of financing of five projects is €300 million. They are implemented within the framework of the European Instrument for Strengthening the Defense Industry through Joint Procurement (EDIRPA). Brussels will purchase defense products for the armed forces of the bloc countries worth more than €11 billion.

Two projects will strengthen the EUʼs joint anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense. Nine allies (France, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Denmark) will purchase Mistral very short-range air defense systems.

Another six bloc member countries (Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Austria, Estonia, Latvia) will jointly purchase IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense systems.

EDIRPA also supports the purchase of armored vehicles by Finland, Latvia, Sweden and Germany. Within two other projects, 155-mm artillery ammunition of various types will be purchased. The Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, Croatia will take part in one of the initiatives, and Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia in the other.

"Most of the selected projects also provide for the purchase of defense products intended for Ukraine, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems and ammunition. This will contribute to strengthening the countryʼs defense capabilities in the face of ongoing Russian aggression," the EC press release says.

• In March 2024, the European Commission considered a plan for the transition of the EU to a "war economy regime" in response to Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine. European Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton convinced that Europe should independently provide its own protection against possible threats.
• In the same month, the EC approved the allocation of €500 million to increase the production of ammunition. So they wanted to increase capacity and speed up the production of ammunition to 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025.
• In November of the same year, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell declared that the European Union had transferred more than 980 000 artillery shells to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2024 out of the promised million. Kyiv can receive the same amount of ammunition in 2025.

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