The European fund will support design and manufacture of next-generation fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and ships, as well as critical defense technologies in the areas of space, cyber, military cloud, Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, and medical countermeasures,” the Commission said.

The fund, created in 2019, boasts a budget of 7.9 billion euros for the 2021-2027 period, and is meant to support cooperation in EU defense production and development of military technologies.

“The European Union (EU) multiplies its funds for military technologies but forgets funds for the food crisis” according to the Spanish digital newspaper Público, while specifying that “already before the special military operation in Ukraine, 93 million people from 53 different countries faced a borderline food insecurity situation”.

The World Bank, on the other hand, estimated (from the first months of this year) that food prices would rise by 37% compared to previous year.

The no response to food crisis, which threatens to displace millions of people at a time of record exodus worldwide, contrasts with the unprecedented increase in European funds earmarked for military equipment.

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