The EU's additional efforts to strengthen defense of its eastern flank are tied to two projects that include non-EU countries, namely Ukraine and Norway, among their participants, European Commission (EC) spokesman Balazs Ujvari said.
"One of them is the Eastern Flank Watch, which goes far beyond drones and covers a wide range of capabilities, whether that's counter-mine action, military mobility, or air and missile defense systems," the spokesman said Tuesday at a briefing in Brussels in response to a related question.
He said 13 EU member states, along with Norway and Ukraine, are taking part in this project. Estimated investment ranges from EUR 60 billion to EUR 100 billion, with implementation timelines extending to 2036.
"The other key project is called Decorder. It focuses on drones. It involves 26 EU member states, as well as Norway and Ukraine. The estimated budget is EUR 3.5 to EUR 5 billion, with completion expected by 2033," the EC spokesman said.
