On November 19, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was received at the Agency by Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý and Deputy Chief Executive André Denk. This marked the first bilateral meeting at EDA’s offices between the Agency’s top management and the Minister.
The Chief Executive briefed Minister Pistorius on EDA’s current work in supporting collaborative defence research and capability development across Europe. He also thanked him for Germany’s strong support and active participation in the Agency’s projects and programmes. The Chief Executive updated the Minister on recent developments within the Agency and the Agency’s involvement in the EU’s military response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This includes joint efforts to address defence investment and capability gaps in Europe.
French high-level visit
On November 20, Chief Executive Šedivý and Deputy Chief Executive Denk welcomed France’s Deputy Defence Minister Jean-Louis Thiériot to EDA.
Both visits follow the recent approval of the 2024 Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report on November 19, which identifies actionable collaborative opportunities for Member States to develop critical military capabilities together.