The Council of the European Union announced on Monday that the five initiatives have been designated as the first European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs) under the European Defence Industry Programme.

The projects cover some of the areas EU governments consider increasingly important to European security: drones and counter-drone technology, maritime and seabed defence, military space capabilities, integrated air and missile defence, and protection of Europe’s eastern flank.

Among the initiatives is Drone and Counter-Drone European Resolve (DECODER), designed to expand European drone capabilities while improving systems capable of detecting and stopping hostile drones.

A second project, Integrated Maritime and Seabed Defence, will focus on identifying and responding to threats at sea and on the seabed — an area of growing strategic importance because of Europe’s dependence on undersea communications and energy infrastructure.

The EU will also develop stronger space-based capabilities, including early-warning satellites for detecting missile launches, secure satellite communications, intelligence and surveillance systems, and technologies enabling the rapid replacement of satellites.

Another project will establish a more integrated European air and missile defence architecture, including early-warning and coordinated command systems.

The fifth initiative, Eastern Flank Watch, is intended to strengthen security along participating countries’ eastern borders across land, air, sea, cyber and other operational domains.

The projects are now eligible for EU funding through the European Defence Industry Programme. That programme provides €1.5 billion in grants for 2025–2027, including €300 million earmarked for an instrument supporting Ukraine’s defence industry.

The announcement came as EU defence ministers met in Brussels, where military assistance to Ukraine, air defence, industrial cooperation and measures addressing Russia’s so-called shadow fleet were among the issues on the agenda.

In a separate decision on Monday, the EU imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and 17 entities over what the Council described as their involvement in the unlawful deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied territories.

The measures include asset freezes, while sanctioned individuals are also subject to EU travel restrictions.

Taken together, Monday’s decisions demonstrate the EU’s continuing push to expand its defence-industrial capacity while coordinating security policy among member states amid the continuing war in Ukraine and wider concerns about European security.

By Dahir Alasow

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