The European Defence Agency (EDA) Annual Conference 2016 entitled 'A third industrial evolution or revolution in defence?' was opened Thursday morning (10 November) in Brussels by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, who is also the Head of the Agency.
Addressing a 500 strong audience coming from the whole European defence spectrum - governments, armed forces, industry, EU institutions, NATO, think tanks and media - Mrs Mogherini said in her opening speech that time had come to make urgent and concrete steps towards a stronger and more efficient European defence, and to do it “the European way”.
We don’t need another theoretical and endless debate about a potential EU army or treaty change but what is needed are "very concrete actions" to be delivered in the next months to make sure Europe can protect it citizens and become a global security provider. This is what citizens expect now that Europe is facing a "security crisis", she stressed. “There are no excuses, we have to do it and we have to do it now”.
March 2017, when Europe will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, will be a good moment to have a concrete implementation process up and running and to deliver on defence integration. "Sixty years ago, the founding fathers and mothers of our European Union believed that a united Europe had to be built on two pillars: a European Economic Community, and a Defence Community. They knew that a true Union could not simply rely on the integration of the markets. They were right, and yet they failed. Sixty years later, I believe the original intuition has become even more relevant", Mrs Mogherini stressed.
To move ahead towards a defence union, Europe has not to start from scratch because the Treaty of Lisbon already offers all the tools that are required. “We just need to use them. This is a matter of political will, stated Mrs Mogherini adding that she saw now a “clear window of opportunity” to achieve concrete results in the coming months.
She recalled the three parallel processes currently ongoing, namely the implementation of the EU Global Strategy, the Commission’ upcoming European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) and the follow-up on the recent joint EU/NATO Declaration. These three processes have to be complementary, she insisted. We have to advance quickly, “we have to run”, to make sure that those processes lead to first concrete results by spring 2017.
In this respect, the European Defence Agency can act as a pivot between the Commission and Member States on European defence, Mrs Mogherini said.
Capabilities are crucial
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission put a special emphasis on the need to make sure Europe has the required capabilities to play its role in defence. Capabilities have to be up to the task. "And here, Europe has to be very careful, I believe, very careful, that the investment gap is not translated into an ever wider technology gap. Because a technology gap would then lead to an interoperability gap. And if left unchecked, this could translate into a political gap which would clearly not be in our interest. And I would add, this would also have economic implications for our continent".
There will be no strategic autonomy and defence role for Europe without a strong and smart and innovative European defence technology and industrial base, Mrs Mogherini concluded.
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