France pushes for joint EU defence procurement after Mediterranean incident
France formally tabled a proposal on Tuesday for a coalition-of-the-willing approach to joint defence procurement among interested EU Member States, citing recent security incidents in the Mediterranean as urgent justification.
The Élysée proposal would allow groups of as few as five Member States to pool procurement budgets under a streamlined legal framework, sidestepping the need for unanimous Council backing.
The initiative has reportedly attracted preliminary support from Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and the Baltic states. Berlin has expressed reservations about parallel structures that could undermine the European Defence Industry Programme.
NATO officials briefed on the proposal indicated it would not duplicate Alliance capability targets.
