The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it will invest 1 billion euros (1.17 billion U.S. dollars) in joint defense research and development under the 2026 European Defense Fund Work Program, to reinforce Europe's collective approach to defense innovation and capability building.
With this new round of investments, the European Commission's flagship for defense research and development will address 31 collaborative defense research and development topics, in critical and urgent areas in line with the commonly agreed capability development priorities.
The distribution of topics is striking a balance between funding research and development on the traditional backbone of defense, on future capability areas and on defense innovation and ensuring support for small and medium enterprises and mid-caps, according to the Commission.
Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has sounded the alarm for them, and Europe must be responsible for its own security.
"This is no longer an option. This is a must," she said, adding that the world pattern has undergone profound changes, and Europe must focus on its own strategy.
EU allocates 1 billion euros to boost collaborative European defense research, development
Banks in south China's Hainan Province has launched innovative multi-functional free trade accounts to enable free and efficient transfer of funds between domestic and overseas accounts, facilitating cross-border capital flow at the Hainan Free Trade Port.
By the end of November this year, 11 banks in Hainan had launched the service, processing transactions equivalent to 295 billion yuan (42 billion U.S. dollars) with entities in 80 countries and regions.
At Hainan's Yangpu Port, one paper manufacturer demands high efficiency in cross-border settlements for its global operations.
Zhao Wenlong, the company's chief financial officer, said the newly opened multi-functional free trade account provides one-stop services for cross-border fund settlements, foreign exchange, investment, and financing. The streamlined process -- free of additional reviews and supplementary documentation -- has significantly boosted capital flow efficiency.
"Its advantages are apparent as it only requires instructions for transactions. For businesses, it's just like direct domestic transfers, eliminating the need for prior approvals and other procedures. This significantly improves the efficiency of corporate fund utilization," said Zhao.
Beyond settlement convenience, the offshore exchange rate advantage of the account has delivered tangible financial benefits to enterprises. Zhao's company saved a significant amount in financial costs on a recent 23 million U.S. dollars foreign exchange settlement transaction thanks to this feature.
"We can choose between two accounts to conduct foreign exchange purchases and settlements with the more favorable exchange rate," said Zhao. The application scenarios for functional free trade accounts are rapidly expanding from basic settlement to complex financial services, becoming a powerful support for enterprises to expand into international markets.
"Starting with the initial simple function of cross-border fund transfers, we have introduced numerous business innovations this year, such as overseas USD financing combined with onshore RMB currency swaps. With the continuous utilization of our services and the integration of our business with the FTP policies, we will roll out more innovative measures to enable enterprises to reap greater benefits," said Li Peng, deputy head of the Hainan Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Bank innovations facilitate cross-border capital flow at Hainan FTP
