There are 18 EU Member States that have signed a letter of intent to intensify cooperation and share the costs of developing common defense systems.
Strengthening Europe’s air and missile defense capabilities. This project has now become one of the priorities of military cooperation in the EU. 18 Member States They signed a letter of intent to join forces in this strategic sector.
The project that attracted the most attention in the capitals was anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense. The European Defense Agency (EDA) suggested three other areas of action: electronic warfare (14 Member States), floating munitions (17 Member States) and European warship (7 Member States).
A mix of military strategy and industrial interests
The European ruling class is aware that the Union lacks air and missile defense capabilities. This weakness is explained as follows: new technologies these have recently been implemented in the field.
AED, in addition to the strategic interest of the project, industrial advantagesYou may be interested in all member states.
The European agency points out that the effort is not limited to military commitment. He also emphasizes that this means: surveillance and risk analysis through satellites, communication technologies and artificial intelligence. It also includes space-based sensors and radars to detect threats as early as possible.
“Therefore, we absolutely need to increase the number of our systems. We must increase our ability to understand where this threat comes from as soon as possible,” insists More. technological advantage “This allows us to defeat these systems,” he continues, adding: “We’ve done a lot.
Avoid repetitive projects and spread expenses
The aim of these cooperation projects is to avoid duplication and share financial effort among Member States in the exploration and development of these resources.
AED states the following in its 2024 report: Member States’ expenditure It increased 30 percent this year Compared to 2021, that is, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All 27 people are expected to spend 326,000 million euros this year 1.9% of EU GDP.
However, despite this increase in expenditure, national efforts alone are insufficient to ensure that Member States’ armed forces are adequately prepared for war. a high intensity battlesays the document. The European Agency therefore calls for greater cooperation to reduce the fragmentation of the EU, in line with four areas of action.european defense and industry.
