European Union Defence Ministers today welcomed new ideas for boosting EU joint spending on defence Research & Technology and asked the European Defence Agency to prepare detailed proposals for their meeting in May on a joint programme of investment in R&T, and funding arrangements to support it.
Meeting as the EDA Steering Board in Innsbruck, Austria, the Ministers also called for a pilot R&T programme using a new approach which could serve as a model for turning military capability objectives into specific technology priorities.
“Everybody accepts that Europe has to raise its game on defence as a whole and on pursuing the new technologies which will give us the capabilities we need in the future and strengthen our industries and research institutions,” said Javier Solana, the Head of the Agency, who chaired the meeting.
“Today’s discussions have helped to establish a framework for identifying the most important objectives and the right funding mechanisms to ensure that we spend more, spend more together and spend more effectively in this crucial area,” he added.
The discussion at the Steering Board, the principal decision-making body of the EDA on which the 24 participating Member States and the European Commission are represented, was the latest stage of work on the agenda to bolster the EU’s defence capabilities and improve its R&T performance, following up the Hampton Court Summit of EU Heads of State and Government summit last year.
The Ministers were able to review the results of an EDA Conference on defence R&T in February, at which representatives of governments, industry and research bodies discussed how to achieve a breakthrough in European multinational and national efforts in this area.
The Ministers reviewed three possible approaches to increasing spending and collaboration on defence R&T: more ad-hoc projects between groups of EU countries; increasing the EDA’s own budget for R&T spend on behalf of Member States; and establishing a special EDA programme of joint R&T investment, with an associated budget provided by a coalition of contributors.
Ministers asked for detailed proposals on the third option for their meeting in May, ahead of the next Summit of EU leaders in June.
At its meeting in May, the Steering Board will also review plans to develop an overall European Defence R&T (EDRT) strategy, which will combine this initiative with the results of a wide consultation aimed at identifying key emerging technologies worth backing because of military needs and their economic importance for Europe.
“The ideas discussed today are central to the of taking urgent action to support the defence technological base in Europe and improve the EU’s military capabilities. We will be working flat out to prepare for decisions in May,” said EDA Chief Executive Nick Witney.