Euractiv: European Commission wants Ukraine to join EU’s defense industry support scheme

The European Commission wants Ukraine to become a full member of the EU’s defense industry support scheme, which would help use the country’s military experience and bring Kyiv closer to EU accession, Euractiv reported on March 4, citing a draft proposal.

The report comes as Kyiv calls on its allies to speed up the provision of weapons and other military equipment, as delays in Western defense aid have already affected the situation on the battlefield, with Ukraine recently losing more territory in the east.

One of the three objectives of the European Defense Investment Programme (EDIP) proposal is the step “contributing to the recovery, reconstruction, and modernization of the Ukrainian defense technological and industrial base and progressive integration into the European, thereby contributing to mutual stability, security, peace, prosperity, and sustainability,” according to the document obtained by Euractiv.

For this, Ukraine should be allowed to become a full-fledged member of any country-consortium for joint procurement of military equipment with other EU member states, obtain access to the bloc’s funds, and VAT-exemption in case of joint ownership, the draft proposal says.

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The European Commission will reportedly present the EDIP regulation on March 5, together with the EU's overall defense strategy.

The draft document also envisages a separate budget for the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex but does not specify the sum, Euractiv wrote.

Previous defense industrial programs implemented in the EU have never considered any third country as a full-fledged participant except for Norway.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Feb. 29 calling on EU member states to support Ukraine with "whatever is needed for Kyiv to win its war against Russia," including long-range weapons.

To ensure Kyiv’s victory, the EU should have "no self-imposed restriction on military assistance to Ukraine," MEPs said, urging European countries to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems, long-range missiles such as Taurus and Storm Shadow/SCALP, various types of artillery and ammunition (155 mm in particular) and drones and weapons.

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