Today, representatives of the EDA participating Member States met in a web conference to discuss a new EDA initiative on Effective Procurement Methods – Common Off-The-Shelf Procurement.
Based on a tasking from the new EU Treaty, Effective Procurement Methods focuses on the development of innovative ways to consolidate the demand side of the European Defence Equipment Market. As a first target area, the Member States identified off-the-shelf procurement. Though further investments into development programmes are still of utmost importance for the maintenance of a high-end European Defence Technological and Industrial Base and a priority in the EDA’s work, the number of military purchases of off-the-shelf products is increasing.
This applies, in particular, to urgent operational requirements and logistical support of EU operations where Armed Forces often rely on third party contractors.
Off-the-shelf purchases is an area where the benefits of common ways of procurement are self-evident. Since demand is met from existing sources, the need for national variants is much lower than for other types of procurement. Likewise the potential savings for Member States are higher as fewer variants result in more streamlined production for industry and higher economies of scales. Moreover, collaborative procurement conducted in a transparent and competitive way increases cross-border competition which again is a key factor in market terms. Finally, a more frequent use of common procurement methods will lead to more nations employing the same equipment and thus increased interoperability.
The main focus for the EDA in this initiative is the consolidation of demand for European defence equipment, and indeed the identification of current common demand. The EDA, with its integrated way of working is ideally placed. Given the new legal framework after the Defence Procurement Directive which explicitly names the EDA as a central purchasing body for common defence procurement, the Agency could, in time, conduct contracting for a group of Member States and thus become a one-stop-shop for defence cooperation.
The EDA’s Industry & Market Director, Peter Scaruppe, stated after the meeting: “Today’s feedback from Member States has been very encouraging and showed us that we are on the right track. With their interest and help we will be able clearly to demonstrate the benefits of this new approach. At the end of the day, common off-the-shelf procurement should become the rule rather than the exception.”