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Germany, France and more than a dozen other EU countries want the EIB to change its policy on defense investment.
advertisementAccording to Bloomberg, 14 countries have written to European Investment Bank (EIB) officials calling for more efficient financing of defense projects.
The letter was dated March 17 and was sent to EIB President Nadia Calvino, European Council President Charles Michel and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo.
The EIB’s current policy prohibits investment in arms, ammunition and military infrastructure, but allows financing of so-called “dual-use items” that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
A growing number of countries want this change to improve the EU’s defense capabilities in the face of Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
“We need to explore various possibilities to enable the EIB to invest in defense-related activities beyond existing dual-use projects,” the letter said. “This means discussing and reevaluating the current definition of dual-use projects and the list of excluded activities, as well as revisiting military industry financing policies and other restrictive factors.”
The letter is signed by the leaders of Finland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
EU leaders will hold a two-day summit in Brussels later this week to discuss security and defense, with the war between Russia and Ukraine in mind.
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