EDA National Armaments Directors (NADs) met on 19 October at the European Defence Agency for their biannual Steering Board meeting under the chairmanship of Czech Deputy Minister of Defence, Daniel Kostoval.
EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq updated NADs on progress made in key defence-related dossiers, including the EU Global Strategy Implementation Plan on European Security and Defence, the Policy Framework for Systematic and Long-Term Defence Cooperation, the Pilot Project on defence research, the Preparatory Action on CSDP-related research as well as the EDA strategic review process.
Lead nations also briefed participants on the status of the four key capability programmes: Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR), cyber defence, GovSatCom, and RPAS.
NADs then discussed a wide variety of topics, including industry involvement in defence cooperation, the Collaborative Database (CODABA), the ongoing work on the setting up of a Cooperative Financial Mechanism, energy and environmental implications for the defence sector and EDA-Nato cooperation.