The European Commission announced today that it has financed, for the first time, a joint arms market on behalf of EU countries, most of which are destined for Ukraine.

In particular, the Commission approved the funding of five cross-border projects, amounting to €300 million, to support joint procurement of defense products by Member States in three critical areas: air and missile defense systems, modern armored vehicles and ammunition.

The five selected projects represent a combined public procurement value of more than €11 billion, demonstrating the high leverage of EU funding. According to the Commission, EDIRPA’s €300 million investments have been leveraged 36 times greater, demonstrating the effectiveness of the program in promoting significant defense investment across the EU.

“This is the first time that we have used the EU budget to support member states in the joint procurement of defense products,” underlined Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager. “This will enable better use of resources for national defense budgets, improve the interoperability of European armed forces, strengthen our industry and better prepare Europe to face defense threats,” he added.

The selected EDIRPA projects involve 20 Member States, some of which will be participating for the first time in joint defense procurement projects. This reflects EDIRPA’s role in encouraging cooperation between Member States to address critical capability gaps, particularly those related to the transfer of defense equipment to Ukraine.

Most of the selected projects involve the supply of defense products destined for Ukraine, including air and missile defense systems and ammunition, strengthening the country’s defense capabilities in the face of the ongoing Russian offensive.

The selection of EDIRPA projects comes in response to calls for proposals launched by the Commission in March 2024. With the adoption of EDIRPA and its subsequent implementation through the work programme, and the launch of the corresponding calls for proposals, the EU encourages for for the first time Member States and Norway to acquire joint defense products, serving the most urgent and critical needs, especially those reinforced by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The concentration of demand provides predictability and therefore encourages industry to increase production capacity and improve the interoperability of national armed forces.

The EDIRPA work program supports joint procurement in three areas: 1) Munitions, 2) Air and Missile Defense, and 3) Platforms and Legacy Systems Replacement.

The EDIRPA program is a short-term instrument approved after Russia’s attack on Ukraine and is expected to last until 2025 to incentivize cooperation on the most urgent defense products.