Der Spiegel: 12 European countries agree on common air defence system

Twelve EU countries have expressed interest in creating a common air defence system, Der Spiegel says, referring to various NATO diplomats.

The idea of creating a system of this kind belongs to Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor. Spiegel says that Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Netherlands have signed a joint declaration of intent on the sidelines of the NATO defence ministers' meeting at Brussels headquarters. A NATO diplomat said there could be more partners. It is reported that the extensive project could get into the starting phase with the “letter of intent”.

Scholz shared his idea of creating a common air defence system alongside other European countries in August. He said that creating the system would be a benefit for European security, and a more efficient and economically rational one than if each country had its own system.

The new system would allow Europe to protect itself from ballistic missiles and unmanned aircraft. It is most likely that the Israeli Arrow system would be purchased. Germany’s army is now equipped with the US Patriot system which is also considered highly efficient but is not suitable for a huge protective shield.

Scholz had the idea of combining several “Arrow” systems and thus enlarging the protective shield. It is still unclear who will pay for the project. In his keynote speech, Scholz emphasised the “German leadership role” in the project, however, Berlin could not carry the billion dollar budget alone, he said.