The EU's financial body said it will lend more for technology that can be used by the military as Europe tries to rearm in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine, AFP reports.
The European Union is seeking to produce more weapons in a bid to continue the flow of arms and ammunition to Kiev and keep its own stockpiles in good condition.
At a summit last month, the EU's 27 leaders asked the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand its scope for financing defence-usable goods from a €6 billion fund.
Under long-established policies, the Luxembourg-based bank cannot directly finance the production of arms and ammunition, and the dual-use goods it finances must have a primarily civilian purpose.
"We will increase and accelerate our support to the European security and defence industry while maintaining our financing capacity and the highest environmental, social and governance standards," said EIB head Nadia Calvino.
Officials said the revised rules would loosen the requirement that any funding be directed primarily toward civilian technologies.
The EIB faces growing pressure to finance more defence projects from EU industry and more assertive member states wary of the threat from Moscow.
But even with this latest policy shift, the EU still lags far behind Russia, which has massively increased arms production, putting its economy on a military footing. /BGNES
