European Commission rejects Baltics' €500 million anti-drone request
The European Commission rejected an appeal from the Baltic defense ministers for €500 million in additional support for drone defense for the eastern flank, suggesting they borrow the money instead.
The ministers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania sent the request at the end of September.
The letter was classified, but Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT that the Baltic states wanted to combine drone detection, artificial intelligence and interception technology into an integrated air defence system.
However, the European Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, told LRT on Wednesday that the Commission had sent its response but could not offer the additional funding the Baltic states had sought.
"One possibility now is to make use of additional funding under the SAFE instrument. We will announce a new call in the near future, because €21 billion remained after the first call," Kubilius said.
The Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, instrument was launched last year and provides €150 billion in favourable loans for defense procurement across the EU.
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Editor: Helen Wright
