Brussels, 24/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - EU Member State defence ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels for the European Defence Agency (EDA) steering board meeting, called for more cooperation to improve the effectiveness of military spending. Ministers called on the Agency to find new solutions for developing the next generation of armoured fighting vehicles (AFV), given that 23 different national programmes currently exist in Europe.
The High Representative for EU external policy, Javier Solana, said “This sector is a perfect example why the Agency is needed”. He was critical of the “enormous fragmentation in both supply and demand and almost no international cooperation between Member States”. He added that, “We agreed that we cannot go on as we are; together we must find a way to change”.
European armed forces are currently equipped with around 20,000 armed fighting vehicles, which are smaller than tanks and larger than a 4x4. They are designed for use in all combat situations. During the next decade, demand would be for around 10,000 of these vehicles, a substantial market, which could be worth EUR 30 billion according to the EDA's official figures.
Nick Witney, the Chief Executive of the EDA averred, “European governments will spend this money much more effectively if they spend together”. He also pointed out the increasing US domination of the industry in Europe. Overall, ministers underlined the current fragmentation of the European Defence Equipment Market, which according to the EDA press release, “was detrimental to the effectiveness of defence spending and, especially, in the long term, to creating a strong European Defence Technology and Industrial Base”.
The Agency is also in charge of coming up with a voluntary “code of conduct” by the end of the year, which aims to introduce competition into the European armaments market, a sector that is been highly protected by the different countries and which often escapes from the rules of the internal market. In the conclusion adopted on the same day, the Council welcomed “with satisfaction”, the news of the action plan adopted by the steering board of the Agency for opening up a European Defence Equipment Market. It called on the Agency to rapidly set up the voluntary defence equipment system.
The Council also welcomed the first EDA activities report and encouraged the Agency to continue its implementation of the 2005 work programme by underlining the importance of the four pilot projects it has launched (command, control and communication (C3), drones, armoured fighting vehicles and the European Defence Equipment Market). Member States welcomed the progress achieved in the activities that had been started up again by the Western European Armaments Group and the Western European Armaments Organisation. Member States called on the Agency to complete this task, in keeping with the agreed deadlines. The Council underlined the importance of the Agency's first three-yearly financial framework, which will be submitted for approval in the autumn and which will set out the Agency's goals up to the end of 2008.
The European Defence Agency has been operational since the beginning of the year and is based in Brussels. It was created last year with the purpose of strengthening European military capability and ensuring better cooperation between member countries.