Strasbourg, 17/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament recommends the gradual construction of a European market for defence equipment that would become more open and transparent between Member States. With the adoption (392 for, 77 against and 7 abstentions) in Strasbourg on 17 November of the report by Joachim Wuermeling (EPP-ED, Germany), which welcomes the Green Paper on public defence procurement, the Parliament considers that the Commission should not only adopt an interpretative communication that reflects its determination to put an end to the abusive use of Article 296 of the Treaty, but should also begin to develop a new directive in parallel on the procurement market for arms, munitions and material of war. In this context, MEPs see the code of conduct developed by the European Defence Agency at the request of the Council as a simple interim tool intended to open the way. The code of conduct will be examined by the ministers during the meeting of the Agency's management board, in Brussels on 21 November.
MEPs urge Member States to actively cooperate with the Commission in drawing up a new directive. The Parliament considers the code of conduct should, in the meantime: - provide Member States with a consultation mechanism as far as R&D and markets are concerned; - define conditions of exemption under Article 296; - provide information on crossborder competition policies and defence equipment transfer; - provide elements on provisions that govern loyal competition and public aid in order to prevent competition distortion; - foresee criteria on the eligibility and selection of tenders; - and set criteria for paving the way to a European defence equipment market which, in the medium term, could become a directive on arms, munitions and material of war.
The EP admits that problems relating to EU defence procurement markets are partially due to the lack of real reciprocity between Member States. It is convinced that the new European legislation on public defence procurement should not allow American commercial interests to take a unilateral hold of European public defence markets.