Bloomberg on Thursday cited a letter jointly sent by the Greek and Polish prime minister to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen calling on the latter to initiate campaign to create a common air defense shield backed and financed by the Union.

According to Bloomberg, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk reportedly cited a new “flagship program,” for EU-wide air defense.

Bloomberg quoted what it said was a person familiar with the letter.

In a post on X earlier in the day, Von der Leyen renewed a call for more common defense projects in the Union.

common EU

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and European Council President Donald Tusk attend the European Union leaders summit dominated by Brexit, in Brussels, Belgium October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Mitsotakis and Tusk are reportedly requesting for the issue to be discussed at the next EU summit at end of next month. The letter was sent to von der Leyen on Thursday, the unnamed source said.

According to the Bloomberg dispatch, “Mitsotakis raised the idea of a specific European defense initiative when he met with Tusk in Poland in April, a Greek government spokesperson told Bloomberg, who also confirmed the letter’s content. Both leaders signed in February a joint letter of support on behalf of the European People’s Party for the candidacy of von der Leyen to win a second term as commission president.”