The Netherlands is a candidate to house a 1 billion euro ($1.06 billion) NATO fund that will invest in European startup companies developing technology with possible military or defence applications, a government agency said on Friday.

A spokesperson for the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) confirmed a report in newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad. They said that if the bid is successful, the country is hopeful it will give a boost to Dutch startups.

The plan for the fund was announced at a NATO summit in Madrid last year. ($1 = 0.9416 euros) (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)