Commission confirms the aim of new EU military R&D programme is to develop home-grown weapons
Commission confirms the aim of new EU military R&D programme is to develop home-grown weapons
16 February 2017
Modified: 14 December 2017
Reading time: 1 minute(s)
Research will support the modernisation and independence of Europe’s arms manufacturers, but the sensitive nature of the work means there will not be the usual oversight and scrutiny of the programme by experts or MEPs.
Some files, which under normal circumstances would be put in front of experts, will instead be “member states-eyes-only documents”, defence ministries are expected to have the biggest say in choosing research topics for the pilot and also some input into the evaluation. The pilot will receive €25 million funding this year, with €65 million requested for 2018-2020. Officials hope the sum could eventually increase to €500 million a year between 2021 and 2027.
More information:
http://sciencebusiness.net/news/80101/Commission-confirms-the-aim-of-new-EU-military-R-and-D-programme-is-to-develop-home-grown-weapons
Updated: 14 December 2017