On Tuesday 14 November, the European defence ministers called for greater access to funding for the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).
“The EDTIB needs reliable and predictable access to both public and private funding to ensure its industrial operations, foster innovation in the defence sector (making full use of green technologies), maintain its long-term competitiveness, enhance security of supply and resilience, and guarantee its ability to provide Member States’ armed forces with cutting-edge technologies and systems”, the ministers stressed in the declaration they adopted during the meeting of the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency.
They also believe that, while pursuing European efforts to strengthen the sustainability of the European economy and industry, the uniqueness of the defence industry must be duly taken into account when assessing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of the EDTIB. The ESG performance has a negative impact on the financing of the EDTIB.
Recalling that the European Investment Bank (EIB) excludes military-related activities beyond dual-use goods from its investment portfolio, the ministers ask it to strengthen its support for the EU’s general defence and security objectives.
In a press release, Jan Pie, Secretary General of the Association of European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries (ASD), described the declaration as a “strong political signal”. He hoped that EU political decision-makers and financial market operators would “hear the Defence Ministers’ signal and act accordingly”.
See the ministers’ statement: https://aeur.eu/f/9jx (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)