EU Proposes Defense Ties With Ukraine  11/25 06:13

   The European Union's defense chief on Tuesday proposed deeper integration of 
the bloc's defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux 
and Russia's unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's defense chief on Tuesday proposed 
deeper integration of the bloc's defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace 
plan remains in flux and Russia's unconventional warfare operations rattle the 
27-nation bloc.

   EU lawmakers are due to hold a vote on a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) 
program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support 
Instrument.

   Ukraine's defense industry "needs us," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius 
Kubilius told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, without mentioning the 
ongoing peace negotiations to end the war. "But we need Ukraine's defense 
innovations even more,"

   He said that allowing Ukrainian access to the EU's Defence Investment 
Program "makes it possible to procure defense equipment in, with and for 
Ukraine."

   EU defense spending is expected to total around 392 billion euros (more than 
$450 billion) this year, almost double the amount of four years ago, before 
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

   The Trump administration has signaled that it's prioritizing U.S. security 
on its own domestic borders and in Asia. It has told Europeans that they must 
fend for themselves and Ukraine in the future.

   Born out of the carnage of the two world wars, the EU started as a trading 
bloc designed to avert conflict. But Russia's war in Ukraine has spurred a 
shift in the Brussels-based bloc, heightening its defense and security posture.

   The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, believes that about 3.4 
trillion euros ($4 trillion) will probably be spent on defense over the next 
decade. To help, it intends to propose boosting the EU's long-term budget for 
defense and space to 131 billion euros ($153 billion).

   EU member countries are being urged to buy much of their military equipment 
within the bloc, working mostly with European suppliers -- in some cases with 
EU help to cut prices and speed up orders. Under the road map, EU nations 
should only purchase equipment from abroad when costs, performance or supply 
delays make it preferable.

   Kubilius said that EU-based defense companies can apply for tax breaks and 
other financial incentives to fund so-called European defense projects of 
common interest that "no member state can ever build alone, but that will 
protect the whole of Europe," like Eastern Flank Watch, Drone Defense 
Initiative or Space Shield.

   Permitting Ukrainian companies to participate in these projects "allows us 
to inject Ukrainian military innovation in the European defense industry," he 
said.

   Last week, the European Commission rolled out a new defense package to allow 
tanks and troops to deploy more rapidly across Europe as well as the EU Defense 
Industry Transformation Roadmap, which aims to simplify and unify regulations 
on the EU's defense industry, and corral investment into domestic production of 
weapons, vehicles, satellites, shells and bullets.