The new Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Jiří Šedivý, who took up his post on 4 May, presented the priorities of his mandate to the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence on Thursday 16 July.
Mr Šedivý began by saying that the EDA should help Member States to work together to achieve the EU’s full defence capability “by going after the most urgent and promising opportunities for cooperation”.
He said the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), to be presented in November, will provide a basis for concrete cooperation activities, together with the Strategic Review of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which helps “facilitate the implementation of the common security and defence culture” among Member States.
Currently, 47 projects are being developed under PESCO, many of which are still in their infancy, according to Mr Šedivý. The EDA technically supports five projects and has received three additional requests for support from Member States.
While, according to the Chief Executive, it is too early to assess the impact of CARD, PESCO and the European Defence Fund, as it is necessary to wait for their consolidation in national planning plans, according to the initial conclusions, “the trend is positive, but fragile”.
“Defence investment will face enormous budgetary pressure”, he worried, recalling that the fragmentation between national defence capabilities could only be overcome if there was a common approach to modernising and replacing them. The part devoted to research and development represents only 0.9% of defence spending, which is “insufficient and unsatisfactory”, he warned. According to Mr Šedivý, “this puts European technological excellence at stake, if this trajectory does not change significantly”. The Chief Executive said that EDA had identified 55 opportunities for cooperation among Member States, categorised from “very promising” to “very urgent”.
Mr Šedivý also felt that more work was needed on disruptive technologies, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence. He also wants to propose to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy three strategic projects concerning cyber defence, the space sector and the harmonisation of terrestrial systems. “These are three strategic capabilities that must be priorities”, he said.
Mr Šedivý also highlighted two other priorities: the integration of defence initiatives into national defence planning and increased interaction with other EU stakeholders, such as the Commission, in particular the new Directorate-General DEFIS, the EU Military Committee and the European External Action Service. He also recalled the importance of cooperation with NATO. Of the 47 PESCO projects, 38 overlap with Alliance priorities. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)