08/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of the meeting of the EPP-ED Group in Saariselka, in Finland, the CDU member of the EP, Karl von Wogau once more pleaded in favour of the creation of a European Armaments' Agency and a genuine European common market for defence.. To push European defence forward, it is essential that barriers be brought down, and not spend more money, he said, regretting that Member States did not co-operate enough (he cited in particular the difficulties with the A400M military transport aircraft). The European Union must develop initiatives in favour of the standardisation of defence equipment, von Wogau added, while noting that it was not a question of total harmonisation, but of making equipment compatible, so that the troops of the different Member states could operate together. We also need a common analysis of existing threats and strict common rules on the export of weapons to crisis areas, by ensuring that they are implemented in the same way by all Member states, he stressed.