MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the press release, the aim of the fund is to foster investment in research in innovative defense technologies, including electronics, encrypted software, metamaterials, and robotics. The EU member states would also be able to borrow from the fund to buy military technology and equipment for their national militaries.
"Under the European Defense Action Plan the Commission proposes to set up a European Defense Fund to support investment in joint research and the joint development of defense equipment and technologies," the press release read.
The European Commission had already proposed to allocate 25 million euros ($26 million) for defense research from the 2017 EU budget and expected the allocation to increase to up to 90 million euros until 2020, the press release noted.
On November 14, the EU member states agreed on a new plan on the European Union security and defense, excluding the creation of the EU army.
The discussions on Europe's defense have become more active following the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election. During the presidential race, the politician had repeatedly stated that the United States should decrease the support of other NATO member states and protect only those members of the alliance, who "fulfill their obligations" in respect to Washington.
