On Wednesday 11 March, by adopting the report by Lucia Annunziata (S&D, Italian) (448 votes in favour, 122 against and 38 abstentions), MEPs backed the development of flagship defence projects of common interest to the EU. There are currently four: the Eastern Flank Watch, the European Drone Defence Initiative, the European Air Shield and the European Space Shield.
The European Parliament is therefore calling for the development of defence capabilities, particularly those lacking, through flagship projects in priority areas. The resolution urges the Commission, participating Member States and the European Defence Agency (EDA) to clearly define the specific objectives, timetable and milestones for implementation, funding proposals, governance mechanisms, technological scope and planned scale of each project.
It also invites the Commission and the Member States to come forward with new proposals for lighthouse projects to develop defence capabilities and enable Member States to better align their national efforts with defence objectives agreed at EU level and consistent with relevant NATO capability-building objectives.
The European Parliament reiterates the importance of ensuring balanced geographical participation in flagship projects.
MEPs also believe that the flagship projects should aim to foster closer cooperation in governance mechanisms at EU level and between Member States.
According to the European Parliament, the flagship projects represent a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the European defence technological and industrial base.
Finally, the European Parliament is calling for adequate and dedicated funding in the next multiannual financial framework to guarantee the long-term financing of flagship projects, underlining the need for adequate and appropriate funding for these projects.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/l4u (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)