Subject: Need for EU joint defence capacity
I believe that, pending finalisation by the EU of its projected common defence policy and the European army, it must begin to implement suitable strategies in this direction.
One of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy mainstays is the joint procurement of military supplies by the Member States.
It frequently been pointed out that their military expenditure, which exceeds EUR 200 billion, is unnecessarily high, being channelled into the acquisition of diverse and multiple defence systems by each of them individually, resulting in wastage.
I therefore call for greater coordination and policy alignment between the 27 Member States and, ultimately, a single market for weapons systems, which
will effectively bring down prices, resulting in enormous savings, compounded by the benefits of purchasing uniform weapon systems. This will also bolster the EU defence industry by stimulating demand for European weapons.
In view of this:
1. Does the Commission endorse my proposed European armaments package?
2. What actions are being planned or proposed by the EU in this direction?
Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission (19 May 2021)
The fragmentation of the European defence sector is a reality and there is a strong need for more convergence and more coherent national defence planning. According to the report of the European Defence Agency (EDF) on Defence data 2018/2019 (1), around 80% of defence procurement is run on a purely national basis, leading to costly duplication of military capability development efforts.
EU defence cooperation initiatives (Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, Permanent Structured Cooperation and European Defence Fund) offer concrete ways to address this by identifying collaborative opportunities and providing financial support to concrete defence research and development projects.
The CARD (2) report identifies six concrete focus areas for joint defence investment and cooperation and over 100 concrete collaborative opportunities in capability development and research & technology. These opportunities can be pursued in the PESCO (3) framework, which already encompasses 46 concrete projects.
The EDF further contributes to fostering EU defence cooperation, while supporting the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation of the Union's defence industry. The eligibility criteria take into account the Member States’ intention to procure the final product or use the technology in a coordinated manner. The award criteria also take into account the fact that they have undertaken to jointly use, own or maintain the final product. Furthermore, an action is eligible for EDF funding only if it is to be carried out by at least three eligible legal entities established in at least three different Member States. These conditions will further incentivise cooperation and contribute to rationalising the market and strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy.
⋅1∙ DEFENCE DATA 2018-2019/KEY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS, Page 12.
⋅2∙ Coordinated Annual Review on Defence.
⋅3∙ Permanent Structured Cooperation.