It could be said that the European Defence Agency’s ethos is cooperation. Since 2004, EDA has been supporting its participating Member States in their capability development. This has always meant “doing more with less”, through identifying innovative and timely pooling & sharing opportunities. The current budgetary crisis has brought this requirement into sharper relief. It also means ensuring complementarity for participating Member States’ common priorities and investments. We strive to avoid duplication by maintaining a constant dialogue with our stakeholders.
Ministers are committed to the Agency. Recent ministerial-level discussions on pooling & sharing revealed that participating Member States were increasingly willing to work together. EDA is aware that it must deliver concrete and affordable results.
I would add that EDA enjoys a privileged role: on the one hand, Member States are both shareholder and client; on the other, EDA is well-positioned in the European landscape (the High Representative and Head of the Agency is also Vice-President of the European Commission). EDA has also proved to be an important interlocutor when it comes to liaising with other institutions, including the European Space Agency and NATO.
Working with Member States and, at the same time, with such a diverse range of intergovernmental and industrial, European and non-European, military and non-military, bilateral and multilateral institutions, EDA needs to get its message across. EDA is a lean, non-bureaucratic, responsive and result-oriented organisation, designed to support Member States. It should be the first choice for where European Defence cooperation takes place. For this, mutual-confidence, knowledge and communication are crucial.
I believe we have to be more pro-active and to improve how we communicate with our key interlocutors. This is why EDA has reassessed its communication tools and invested considerable time and effort in rebuilding its main gateway: the website. The website is neither a repository nor a library, but rather a living platform, where EDA describes, on different levels, its major ongoing projects and its achievements. EDA has also developed a new electronic Newsletter to reach different audiences. This proactive communication channel will enable you to hear from us more effectively.
We welcome you to our new website.
Claude-France Arnould, EDA Chief Executive