Details of Newly Proposed EU Defense Tool to Be Presented in June - Mogherini

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The EU will prepare by mid-June a detailed report on the recently proposed new instrument in the field of foreign policy and defense - the European Peace Facility - which would support EU operations in third countries and provide military-technical assistance to partners, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

On May 2, the European Commission proposed a 40-percent increase of security spending in the EU 2021-2027 budget. The Commission also proposed to increase foreign policy spending and to establish a defense fund called the European Peace Facility (EPF) worth 10.5 billion euros ($12.5 billion), which can be used to provide military-technical support to the armed forces of countries outside the bloc.

"And I also informed ministers of my intention to present a detailed proposal by mid June on the European Peace Facility, a new off-budget instrument to finance our defense work, military operations, but also support for partners and also the possibility to finance military equipment of partners," Mogherini said at a press conference following the informal meeting of EU ministers of defense in Sofia.

Mogherini added that by June the report on PESCO implementation will also be presented.

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According to the EU foreign policy chief, by the end of the year, a decision can be taken to involve third countries in projects within the framework of the European program of cooperation in the field of defense, and the number of projects themselves may increase.

In March, the Council of the European Union adopted a plan of action to implement a joint EU program called Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which foresees the possibility of a number of EU member states working more closely together in the area of security and defense in a binding and permanent framework. The program consists of 17 projects involving 25 countries.