FT: the European Commission at the beginning of June will publish the project of creating a European defense Fund
LONDON, may 15. /TASS/. The European Commission (EC) in early June will publish the project of creating a European defense Fund (European Defence Fund, EDF), which will allow to increase military spending to the community after a British exit from the EU. It is reported by the British newspaper Financial Times.
According to the publication, development of plans “has entered a decisive stage”. According to them, starting in 2020, it will be possible to allocate annually from EDF for research in the defense sector of the community is around €500 million ($546 million).
The funds will be used exclusively for the development of prototypes of high-technology weapons, in particular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robots, and can not be used to purchase member countries of the EU military technology, said people familiar with the plan, diplomats said.
Such restrictions are defined, according to European officials, the framework of the Lisbon Treaty. “In this case achieved the maximum possible”, — said the publication familiar with the project officer.
To implement the plan for promoting integration in the defence field the EU might be attracted by the European investment Bank. As said its spokesman, the Bank “does have a lot to strengthening security and is exploring ways to increase the contribution on the basis of its current policy and mission.” “It can provide strong support to other European initiatives that are complementary to the scheduled defense Fund”, — he added.