Brussels, 08/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Defence Agency (EDA) and two MEPs from the EPP-ED Group have reacted favourably to Thursday's presentation by the Commission of its interpretative communication on application of Article 296 of the European Treaty (see EUROPE 9323). Article 296 allows Member States to derogate internal market rules as set out in the Treaty if that is necessary for the protection of their essential security interests.
“Every initiative that contributes to the breaking down of protectionist barriers in European defence procurement is to be welcomed. Getting a better market going is vital for the preservation of an internationally competitive defence technological and industrial base”, said Nick Witney, EDA Chief Executive. The EDA points out that a code of conduct on defence equipment procurement has been in force since July 2006 (see EUROPE 9223). All EU Member States except Denmark, Spain and Hungary subscribe to the code that concerns contracts worth at least one million euros coming under Article 296. To date, 85 calls for tenders have been published on the EDA electronic portal for a value of almost €5 billion.
In a joint press release, Andreas Schwab and Karl von Wogau (EPP-ED, Germany) consider that the communication is a step in the right direction. In their view, the unfortunate tendency of Member States to make a broad interpretation of the term “essential security interests” including equipment such as accessories for lorries must be stopped as a matter of urgency. Recalling the enormous potential of the European defence equipment market evaluated at €179 billion, they consider that goods, to be used for civil and military purposes, must no longer be covered by the derogation under Article 296 as, because of their “dual nature”, they do not relate only to the essential security needs of Member States. (mb).