A delegation of twenty-four Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the Security and Defence (SEDE) committee, led by Chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, visited the European Defence Agency (EDA) on Monday 17 February 2025.
Following the hearing of the EDA Chief Executive, Jiří Šedivý, at the then SEDE subcommittee in December 2024 and the subsequent establishment of SEDE into a full-fledged parliamentary committee, the visit enabled MEPs to meet with all operational directorates in the Agency. It was the opportunity to get to know in greater detail EDA’s governance, its main work strands as well as its reinforced mission and five core tasks consolidated by the EDA long-term review in 2024. This is the first time a delegation of MEPs has visited the EDA.
“EDA’s strength lies in our role in enabling defence cooperation at EU level, helping Member States develop together defence capabilities. EDA brings together all relevant stakeholders from the Ministries of Defence as we work directly with Member States military experts and end users”, recalled EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý.
“To increase efficiency in defence, it is crucial to ensure good articulation between the intergovernmental approach of setting priorities and initiating projects, and the Union’s initiatives and incentives in support of the European Defence and Technological Industrial Base (EDTIB). In this respect, the cooperation and dialogue with the co-legislators of the SEDE Committee is of the utmost importance”, he said.
SEDE Chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said: “Russia has brought war back to the European continent with its war of aggression against Ukraine. Europe must strengthen European defence, Europe and Ukraine’s future will be determined by our unity and collective position of strength. SEDE will play its full role as Europe urgently prioritises defence, including by deepening its engagement with the European Defence Agency. It is vital to enhance the competitiveness and the production of the European Defence Industry, to be prepared for new geopolitical realities that threaten the EU’s security.”
“The development of the European Defence Industry Programme regulation is an important step in this direction and SEDE is ready to contribute to shape it to deliver. The European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and other relevant EU defence initiatives need to be supported by an appropriate budget and SEDE will push for it for the period 2025-2027 as well as in the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF). However, companies are also called upon to move swiftly into production and delivery and, above all, to work together on European level”, she said.
Background
To address Europe’s current challenges as well as the European Parliament’s own priorities, MEPs voted on 18 December 2024 to upgrade the Parliament’s subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) into a fully-fledged committee, comprising now 43 members and having legislative power.
EDA was created in 2004 to support and facilitate defence cooperation in Europe. EDA has become the place where EU Member States who are interested in developing their defence capabilities collaboratively can do so. EDA is the EU’s defence agency, embodying intergovernmental defence cooperation at EU level.
EDA’s expertise and activities cover the whole spectrum of cooperation: from harmonising requirements to delivering operational capabilities; from research & technology (R&T) and innovation to developing technology demonstrators; from training and exercises to support to CSDP operations.
