Jorge Domecq, EDA Chief Executive, today met with the Luxembourgish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Etienne Schneider to exchange views on the preparation of the European Council in June 2015, Luxembourg’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Luxembourg’s participation in EDA projects.
“The example of our future Luxembourg Governmental Satellite perfectly illustrates how public and private actors can work together for their mutual benefit and how defence spending can contribute to economic growth and job creation. The Luxembourg GovSat will be operated by a joint-venture company in Luxembourg, which brings together the government and the world-leading satellite operator SES established in the Grand-Duchy to launch a communication satellite with military frequency bands for the use of the Luxembourg government and its defence. This public-private partnership is one example illustrating how defence spending can benefit even a small economy without a significant armaments or specific defence industry of its own. As the EDA does, we promote working closely together with the private sector and looking whenever possible for economic opportunities for local companies, even SMEs, when planning for defence projects”, said Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Minister of the Economy.
Full support
”Luxembourg will take over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2015 - right after the June European Council on defence. Based on the excellent cooperation between the Agency and the Luxembourg Ministry of Defence, I have today assured Minister Schneider of our support in any defence related Presidency initiative. In particular, EDA will support a seminar organised on public-private partnerships as part of our endeavour to set up incentives for more cooperation in the development of European defence capabilities”, stressed Jorge Domecq during his visit in Luxembourg.
The visit in Luxembourg also allowed for meetings at the European Investment Bank and at the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. It is part of a series of visits by Mr. Domecq to all EDA Member States following his appointment as EDA Chief Executive and ahead of the Ministerial Steering Board on 18 May 2015. So far, Mr. Domecq visited Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus. Upcoming confirmed visits are Finland, Sweden and Italy.
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