Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen initiated a joint appeal to the EU together with his colleagues from Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Poland on Ukraine's integration into the European defense industry.
In a joint letter, the defense ministers proposed four specific areas of cooperation between the EU and Ukraine's defense industry.
"We propose to develop an EU action plan for Ukraine's integration into the European defense industry as soon as possible. Among other things, this will ensure Ukraine's access to EU programs in the field of defense industry and defense innovation. A strengthened Ukrainian defense industry is important for Ukraine - and for our security of supply in Europe," the Danish minister said.
As Mr. Poulsen reminded, Denmark was the first EU country to announce that it would invest directly in the Ukrainian defense industry.
"It will certainly strengthen Ukraine if more EU countries support Danish investments and follow our example," he added.
In early May, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the EU to establish a joint defense industry with Ukraine. As the minister explained, this would help avoid problems arising from the use of different types of weapons and ammunition.
And in mid-May, the media learned that the EU had developed its own agreement on security assurances for Ukraine, which, among other things, provides for cooperation in the defense industry.